AI’s Power Surge is Rewriting the Utility Growth Story

The AI boom isn’t just about chips and code. It’s about electricity.

As data centers multiply, utilities are ramping up investment, turning digital ambition into a powerful new earnings catalyst.

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Workforce Strategy

Is IBM the Only One Thinking Long-Term About Talent?

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is tripling its entry-level hiring in the U.S. this year while the rest of the tech industry talks about replacing those same roles with AI. That is not a small gesture. That is a company making a loud strategic choice at a moment when the default move is to cut headcount and automate.

The twist is that these are not the same entry-level jobs IBM used to offer. The roles have been completely redesigned.

Same Title, Different Job

IBM reworked its entry-level descriptions to pull focus away from tasks AI can already handle, like coding, and shift toward human skills like customer engagement and problem-solving. The jobs still exist, but what fills them looks completely different.

You can see the logic clearly. Automate the repetitive work, then hire people specifically for what AI cannot do. It is a cleaner split than most companies have been willing to make publicly.

Building the Bench on Purpose

The deeper play here is the pipeline. Even if AI reduces the need for certain junior tasks today, companies still need experienced talent five years from now. That talent has to come from somewhere.

IBM would rather develop your future senior engineers and strategists internally than scramble to find them later in a dried-up market. If you have been watching tech companies cut headcount and call it innovation, this is a very different signal from one of the industry's oldest names.

IBM currently trades at $260 and pays a dividend of $6.72 per share, a yield of 2.58%.

Restaurant

McDonald's Goes All In on Value Because That Is What Keeps Winning

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) posted fourth-quarter results that beat earnings and revenue estimates, while reporting sales growth in both the U.S. and globally. But the bigger story is not the quarter. It is the direction. McDonald's is leaning hard into value meals and affordability as the centerpiece of its strategy going forward.

After years of menu price increases that tested customer loyalty, the company is making a clear pivot back to what built the brand in the first place.

Value Is the Whole Playbook Now

Extra Value Meals are not a promotional stunt. McDonald's is treating affordability as a core operating strategy, not a seasonal offer to drive traffic during slow months. The company is investing in making value feel permanent again.

You already know what happened when fast food prices crept too high. Customers traded down, skipped visits, or left entirely. McDonald's watched that data and is now responding with a menu built to bring them back.

Protein Gets a Bigger Role

McDonald's is also investing in beef and higher-protein menu items. This move aligns with shifting consumer preferences and the growing influence of weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s on eating habits. Smaller portions with more protein fit a customer base that is increasingly calorie-conscious.

When your biggest competitor is not another restaurant but a medication that changes how people eat, the menu has to evolve. McDonald's is adjusting before it becomes a problem rather than after. You can see a company that reads the room faster than most give it credit for.

MCD currently trades at $330 and pays a dividend of $7.44 per share, a yield of 2.25%

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Pharmaceuticals

Is It Too Late for Pfizer or Exactly the Right Time?

Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is advancing its obesity and diabetes drug into late-stage development, launching a Phase 3 trial called VESPER-5 that will test a once-weekly injection in roughly 1,000 adults. The drug, MET097, targets both weight loss and blood sugar control, putting Pfizer directly into the most competitive and fastest-growing space in pharma right now.

The trial is not yet recruiting, but the clock is officially running. This is Pfizer planting its flag in a market that has been dominated by two names so far.

Weekly Shot, Big Ambition

MET097 is designed as a long-acting injection given once a week. Fewer doses, better convenience, and stronger adherence over time. That formula has already proven massive for the companies that got there first.

Pfizer is betting it can match or improve on that model. You do not launch a 1,000-patient Phase 3 trial spanning 21 months unless the early data give real confidence.

Late but Not Lost

The obesity drug market is still expanding fast enough that being third or fourth does not automatically mean losing. Demand far exceeds current supply, and doctors want options.

If your impression of Pfizer has been shaped by its post-pandemic slowdown, this pipeline move is worth paying attention to. Results are years away, but the commitment is happening now.

PFE currently trades at $27 and pays a dividend of $1.72 per share, a yield of 6.18%

MNR has increased its dividend to 53 cents, a 96.30% growth. Its new yield is 16.89%.

QSR has raised its dividend to 65 cents, an increase of 4.84%. Its new yield is 3.92%.

EXC has lifted its dividend to 42 cents, a 5.00% increase. Its new yield is 3.53%.

BLX has increased its dividend to 68 cents, up 10.00%. Its new yield is 5.53%.

TSLX has slashed its dividend to 1 cent, a 66.67% cut. Its new yield is 0.2%. 

SPMC has reduced its dividend to 20 cents, a 20.00% reduction. Its new yield is 20.8%.

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Everything Else

• Levi Strauss & Co. says its planned U.S. distribution transition to a third-party operator will take longer than expected, with the early 2026 target being pushed back to later in the year. 

• Cisco has rolled out a series of new systems, advanced optics, and management upgrades to support super-scale AI network buildouts in the hyperscale era.  

• Penske Automotive says it expects to see a rebound in commercial trucking and improved macro conditions in 2026. The company is targeting $2 billion in annualized revenue and says The Big Beautiful Bill, tax refunds, lower interest rates, and GDP growth will all have a positive impact on operations. 

• Tractor Supply has appointed the former Gap CEO, Sonia Syngal, to its board, effective immediately.