Easy Peasy #36: Build Your Dividend Portfolio & Live Off Dividends with Pre-Selected Stock Sets

Dividend Growing Stock Sets – Start with $300, $500, or $1,000 Weekly

MaxDividends Mission: Helping & Supporting Everyone in Building a Growing Passive Income, Retiring Early, and Living Off Dividends.

In this section, we share ready-made sets of promising dividend growth stocks with strong future dividend potential.

We also track performance and provide portfolio links for each set, so you can monitor past results and real-time updates.

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Intro

Tariffs Rattle Tech, Markets Tumble: Wall Street Reels

Tech Crushed, Powell Shrugs

It was carnage on Wall Street Wednesday as tech stocks tanked and investors got no help from the Fed. The Dow plunged 699.57 points (-1.73%) to 39,669, the S&P 500 sank 120.89 (-2.24%) to 5,275, the Nasdaq crashed 516.01 (-3.07%) to 16,307, and the Russell 2000 fell 19.44 (-1.03%) to 1,863.

Nvidia and AMD led the drop after the U.S. restricted AI chip exports to China, hitting NVDA with a $5.5B write-down and AMD with $800M in charges. ASML didn’t help, reporting weak Q1 bookings at €3.9B and citing tariff-driven uncertainty. The SOX index plunged 7% intraday before trimming to a 4% loss.

Then came Powell. In a Chicago speech, he admitted growth is slowing, inflation risks linger, and the Fed plans to “wait for clarity”—translation: no bailout coming. Meanwhile, the WTO slashed 2025 global trade growth to -0.2%, down from +3.0%, warning that extended tariffs could shave another 1.4 percentage points off.

📊 Economic Data

• Retail Sales (Mar): +1.4% m/m, in-line. Autos popped +5.3%, gasoline tumbled -2.5%, and core sales rose +0.8%.

• Industrial Production (Mar): -0.3%, slightly worse than expected; capacity utilization dipped to 77.8%.

• Business Inventories (Feb): +0.2%, matching views. Inventories rose modestly while sales jumped +1.2%.

• NAHB Housing Index (Apr): 40, topping both consensus (37) and March’s 39, with slight improvement in current sales.

• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1: -2.2%, up from -2.4%, as consumption strength pushed revisions higher.

• China Q1 GDP: +5.4% y/y, beating +5.1% estimates. Retail sales surged +5.9%, industrial output up +7.7%.

Commodities, Currencies & Treasuries

• Gold soared $106.00 (+3.27%) to a record $3,346.40, as safe-haven demand exploded on tariff fears.

• WTI crude rose $1.14 (+1.86%) to $62.47, while Brent climbed $1.27 (+1.97%) to $65.95 on China trade optimism.

• EUR/USD gained 0.0117 to 1.1398, while JPY/USD dropped 1.42 to 141.81—a haven-fueled dollar rout.

• 10Y Treasury yield eased 5bps to 4.271%, as traders piled into bonds amid market stress.

🔩 Autos

• ALV beat Q1 across the board: EPS $2.15 vs est. $1.67, sales $2.58B, guiding organic growth up 2% and margin outlook 10–10.5%.

• HTZ rallied after Pershing Square disclosed a 12.7M share stake in the rental giant.

• TSLA slid as Q1 California EV registrations dropped -15.1% y/y, with market share falling to 43.9% from 55.5%.

🛒 Retail, Consumer Staples & Restaurants

• TGT downgraded to Neutral at GS (PT to $101) as tariff risks and weak discretionary rebound cloud earnings outlook.

• MOV jumped on Q4 sales of $181.5M vs prior year $175.8M; raised prices to offset tariff pressures.

• DB cut ests across restaurant sector (MCD, CMG, YUM, etc.) after weak Q1 traffic: Jan -1.3%, Feb -5.7%, Mar -2.3%.

🏨 Leisure, Gaming & Lodging

• Needham slashed Q1 EBITDA ests for FLUT by $112M and PENN by $12M, citing ongoing weak sports betting outcomes.

• UAL beat with EPS $0.91 vs est. $0.74 on $13.21B revs; guided FY EPS to $11.50–$13.50, or $7.00–$9.00 in a recession.

• JBHT slipped as Q1 profit dropped -7.6%, but EPS $1.17 beat est. $1.14, and intermodal held up well.

• UNP upgraded to Buy at Redburn (PT $259) on cost-cutting and volume gains, citing tariff resilience.

• LYFT buying FREENOW from BMW/Mercedes for €175M ($197M), expanding into 150 European cities.

🏦 Banks, Brokers & Asset Managers

• IBKR missed with EPS $1.88 vs est. $1.91; NII rose 3.1% to $770M, while margin balances fell -12%. Declared 4:1 split.

• TRV crushed with EPS $1.91 vs est. $0.79 on $11.8B revs; net premiums rose 3% to $10.52B, despite $2.27B in cat losses.

• JPM cut tgts on AGNC, BXMT, NLY, KREF, etc., saying low rates ease borrower pressure but recession risks are rising.

🧬 Biotech & Pharma

• ABT beat Q1 with EPS $1.09 vs est. $1.07 and sales $10.36B; reaffirmed FY EPS $5.05–$5.25 and guided Q2 EPS $1.23–$1.27.

• BSX upgraded to Buy at Needham (PT $113) after survey showed reduced PFA threat and upside potential from Watchman adoption.

• SOAGY jumped after Q1 EBITDA €263M crushed est. €234M, raised FY sales growth view to +6%, with strong order intake.

• CDC expected to expand RSV vax access; current approved makers include PFE, GSK, and MRNA.

🛠️ Industrials, Aerospace & Defense

• CAT upgraded to EW at MS, URI to OW; AGCO and REVG cut to UW, PCAR to EW as analysts prep for weak Q1 prints.

• LMT upgraded to OW, GD cut to EW, and NOC named top pick in defense at MS, citing rising global budgets and export tailwinds.

• WTS and ZWS upgraded to Buy at Stifel, citing pricing power and minimal tariff impact; Siemens Energy raised FY margin to 4–6%, sales growth to 13–15%.

🧱 Materials, Metals & Mining

• ECL cut to EW at WFC as softening industrial activity and weak food production weigh on outlook.

• X downgraded to Neutral at JPM (PT to $38), citing longer-term support from revised Section 232 tariffs, though near-term upside limited.

• TMC and MP rallied after Trump signed EO for Commerce review of critical minerals—aimed at boosting domestic production and reducing import reliance.

🌐 Technology, Media & Telecom

• OMC topped with EPS $1.70 vs est. $1.66, organic revs grew +3.4%, though operating margin slipped to 12.3%.

• WIT missed revs slightly at ₹225.04B ($2.63B) vs est. ₹226.21B, guided Q1 rev down 1.5–3.5% q/q; INFY, CTSH moved in sympathy.

• Mizuho warned Q2 outlook in cybersecurity could be volatile, cutting PTs on names like CFLT, DDOG, MSFT, and NOW despite solid Q1 checks.

💻 Semiconductors

• ASML missed Q1 bookings at €3.9B vs est. €4.89B, citing tariff-driven uncertainty but kept full-year outlook intact.

• NVDA hit by U.S. export ban on H20 chips to China, prompting a $5.5B write-down; AMD also warned of $800M charge from MI308 restrictions.

• Barclays sees tariffs hitting group-wide sales 4–6% in a mild case and up to 12% in a worst-case scenario; EPS risk 12–13%.

• Citi flagged downside risk to AMD, MU, AVGO on China exposure; Reuters said China made up $17B (or 13%) of NVDA’s FY sales.

🧠 What’s Next?

Markets cratered Wednesday, and the Fed didn’t flinch — Powell’s poker face left bulls hanging. Tech took a beating, gold flew, and bond yields sagged. But with earnings season about to explode, the macro story’s far from over.

• 1️⃣ Q1 earnings ramp up — Huge wave next week, but Thursday’s trickle includes TSM and SNAP.

• 2️⃣ Tariffs escalate — AI chip bans, WTO trade downgrade, and Trump hinting at more.

• 3️⃣ Fed playing cool — No rate cuts promised, despite 70% odds for June.

• 4️⃣ Global trade slows — WTO now sees -0.2% 2025 growth, lowest since COVID peak.

• 5️⃣ Risk-off rules — Gold at highs, VIX spiking, and Treasuries in demand.

One more trading day before the long weekend — buckle up. Friday’s closed, but volatility’s still very much open.

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But none of this news really matters to MaxDividends members. We're focused on growing the cash flow that lands in your pocket every month—not stressing over price swings or stock market noise.

At MaxDividends, we focus on a dividend growth strategy, perfect for investors seeking capital appreciation, solid safety, and a steadily growing income.

A rising dividend is a strong sign that a company is thriving—and wants its shareholders to thrive with it.

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This week, we’ve rolled out a fresh batch of ready-to-go Stock Sets 💪.

Easy Peasy #36: Pre-Selected Dividend Growth Stock Sets