Defense Spending Is Keeping This Order Book Full

A new military contract has added weight to an already robust defense backlog.

As global tensions remain elevated, long-term government spending is reinforcing revenue stability and cash flow visibility for this familiar name.

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Asset Management

BlackRock Quietly Changes How Crypto Is Handled

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) is starting 2026 with a noticeable shift in how it treats crypto inside its portfolios. Recent moves in Bitcoin and Ethereum are not exits or panic signals. They reflect a deeper reset in which digital assets are managed like everything else BlackRock touches.

That distinction matters. BlackRock does not trade narratives. It builds systems. When you see it rebalance crypto exposure, the message is about discipline, liquidity, and timing, not conviction or headlines.

Crypto Joins the Risk Framework

BlackRock is moving crypto out of the always-accumulate mindset and into a manage-through-cycles model. That means rebalancing, trimming, and adding based on portfolio math, not belief.

When you frame crypto this way, it stops being special. It earns its place or loses it just like any other allocation, and that alone changes how institutions think about exposure.

Control Builds Credibility

This approach also speaks to regulators and conservative clients. Showing that crypto can be entered and exited calmly reinforces the idea that digital assets do not have to destabilize portfolios.

In the long term, this strengthens BlackRock's influence on the crypto market's structure. When the largest asset manager treats digital assets as a tool instead of a movement, the tone of the entire market shifts. Volatility stays, innovation continues, but stewardship takes over, and if you are paying attention, you can see crypto growing up in real time.

BLK currently trades at $1,088 and pays a dividend of $20.84 per share, a yield of 1.92%)

Drug Development

Pfizer Steps Out of the Pandemic Shadow for Good

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is entering 2026 in the middle of a real identity reset. The pandemic era that once defined the company is firmly in the rearview mirror, and Pfizer is reshaping itself for a world where Covid windfalls no longer carry the story.

This moment is not unexpected. Big pharma always faces patent cliffs and competitive pressure, and Pfizer is no exception. What matters is how deliberately the company is responding instead of trying to stretch the past.

Old Blockbuster's Step Aside

Several long-standing drugs are losing exclusivity, and pressure on once-dominant franchises is increasing. Pfizer is not pretending otherwise.

Rather than defending aging assets forever, the company is shifting attention toward oncology, metabolic disease, immunology, and rare conditions. When you look at recent deal activity and pipeline focus, the direction is clear: build where long product cycles still exist.

Covid Moves to Runoff Mode

The Covid business is now treated like a declining asset, not a growth engine. Investment is being pulled back, and capital is being redeployed where future returns actually live.

This is not a retreat. It is a reset. And if you are watching long term, this year is less about noise and more about whether Pfizer can trade short-term volatility for a stronger, more durable future.

PFE currently trades at $25.00 and pays a dividend of $1.72 per share, a yield of 6.83%.

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Investments

NVIDIA Drops $5B and Makes Its Intent Obvious

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) has committed $5 billion into Intel in a move that reshapes how the company thinks about its own future. This is not a technical partnership or a supply tweak. It is Nvidia choosing long-term control at a moment when AI demand is turning hardware into global infrastructure.

Writing a check this large sends a simple message. NVIDIA is no longer reacting to supply constraints. It wants a seat inside the system that builds the chips powering the next decade.

Control Becomes the Product

As AI demand explodes, access to manufacturing matters as much as design. By anchoring capital within Intel, Nvidia gains influence over where and how future generations of its technology are manufactured.

This also changes what customers expect. Governments, hyperscalers, and enterprises are not just buying chips anymore. They want supply certainty, delivery confidence, and geopolitical stability, and you can see Nvidia aligning itself to offer exactly that.

Scale Creates Leverage Others Don’t Have

Very few companies can deploy $5 billion this way. Smaller rivals cannot even consider it, and larger ones face more challenging trade-offs.

The perception shift matters. NVIDIA is no longer just riding the AI wave. It is laying the tracks underneath it, and when you commit capital at this level, you are signaling you expect to be here for a long time.

NVDA currently trades at $189 and pays a dividend of $0.04 per share, a yield of 0.02%.

A brand-new year brings with it plentiful opportunities to broaden your investment horizons, lean into new industries, and explore new dividend payers. Whatever your portfolio resolutions for the year ahead, here’s our take on who to keep a watchful eye on as 2026 builds up steam.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ): With 64 years of consecutive dividend payment increases and a jam-packed pipeline with more than 100 indications at various stages of testing and approval, it’s a solid bet that JNJ will raise its dividend again this year. 

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is one to watch in 2026 as global payments volumes continue to rise and new growth drivers emerge across cross-border spending, stablecoins, and digital currencies. 

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE)’s regulated utility stability and industry-leading renewable energy growth make it one to watch. Long-term contracted cash flows and heavy investment in wind, solar, and storage make it a compelling income story with visible upside. 

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) has room to extend its long dividend growth streak thanks to a conservative payout ratio, rising interest income, and disciplined underwriting. 

Ecolab, Inc. (NYSE: ECL) has pricing power and margin recovery on its side. As efficiency gains compound, dividend growth could reaccelerate from recent modest increases.

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Everything Else

• Lamb Research, Marvel Technologies, and Micron Technology have all started 2026 on the front foot as chipmaking stocks surged ahead of what’s expected to be a bumper year for AI.

• Starbucks is one of many chain stores rethinking its volume approach, joining the likes of T-Mobile and a host of other retailers in seriously downsizing its presence in metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles. 

• Airbus has confirmed it will issue audited year-end commercial data on January 12. Wall Street will be watching closely to see if the plane maker has achieved its stated 2025 target of around 790 deliveries.

• PepsiCo Inc. and Walmart Inc. are facing a proposed nationwide class action lawsuit that alleges the two companies collaborated on a price strategy that ensured higher prices for PepsiCo products at other retailers.