Hello – Wall Street’s 2026 playbook just changed, and so did ours. The freshly updated 10 Best Stocks to Own: Summer 2026 report zeroes in on companies that:
- Fuel the AI boom through chips, cloud infrastructure, and next-gen computing
- Shower investors with cash via rising dividends and aggressive buybacks
- Hold pricing power in any rate-cut scenario, guarding your downside
Inside, you’ll find everything from an under-the-radar chipmaker poised to rule edge devices to a household-name retailer sitting on $12 billion in cash—likely primed for another special dividend. Every pick has a hard catalyst that could ignite in the next 12 months. π Claim your complimentary PDF here. No cost, no catch—just time-sensitive insights before these stories go mainstream. To your investing edge, Matthew Paulson
Founder & CEO, MarketBeat P.S. Uncertainty may be the only certainty in 2026, but owning the right businesses doesn’t have to be. Download the list now and decide which of these ten leaders deserves a spot in your portfolio.
Friday's Bonus Article
Japan's Stealth Bull Market: How U.S. Investors Can Get ExposureSubmitted by Chris Markoch. Article Published: 5/17/2026. 
Key Points
- Japan’s corporate governance reforms are driving stronger shareholder returns through buybacks, dividends, and improved capital efficiency.
- ETFs like EWJ and DXJ provide investors with different ways to gain exposure to Japanese equities, including currency-hedged strategies.
- Sony and Toyota offer contrasting opportunities, with Sony focused on diversified technology growth and Toyota representing a higher-risk turnaround play.
- Special Report: Elon Musk: This Could Turn $100 into $100,000
Japanese stocks have been an attractive option for investors seeking exposure outside U.S. equities. Several factors have fueled the multi-year rally, including corporate governance reform, record shareholder returns, and a weak yen. The governance overhaul began with Japan's Stewardship and Corporate Governance Codes in 2014–15. This pushed companies to prioritize shareholder value over the old habits of cash hoarding and cross-shareholdings, where companies held each other's stock to cement business relationships rather than generate returns.
When the SpaceX IPO launches, most retail investors will be locked out. The banks, funds, and insiders get in early - while everyone else waits on the sidelines.
But one small infrastructure supplier - a critical piece Musk can't scale the Colossus network without - is still trading well under institutional radar. A new briefing reveals the name and ticker at no cost. Get the SpaceX infrastructure stock name and ticker here
More than a decade later, the overhaul has delivered tangible results: more than 90% of listed companies now have meaningful independent board representation. In addition, the Tokyo Stock Exchange has ramped up pressure by threatening to delist companies that fail to meet capital efficiency standards. This pressure has unlocked a wave of shareholder returns. Share buybacks have risen nearly 6x over the past decade; dividends have doubled; and companies are increasingly canceling repurchased shares outright rather than warehousing them. The weak yen has amplified the story. Having lost roughly a third of its trade-weighted value over four years, the yen has boosted the overseas earnings of Japanese exporters and made Japanese assets more attractively priced for foreign buyers, drawing record foreign inflows in 2025. Has the Japan Trade Run Its Course?Not yet, but there are some risks. The biggest is a recovery in the yen, which would squeeze exporter margins. Valuations are also less compelling than they were, and despite the progress that’s been made, many companies are still dragging their feet on reform. Still, those are short-term concerns in a long-term bull market. Japan’s equity market is in the midst of a structural shift that could make it compelling to long-term investors. iShares MSCI Japan ETF Offers Broad Exposure to JapanMany investors will choose exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a way to gain exposure to Japanese stocks. One option is the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA: EWJ). The fund invests in a representative sample of securities that are part of the MSCI Japan Index. The fund has 184 holdings, but the key point is that its holdings are weighted toward technology and industrials. These sectors face headwinds from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but they also stand to benefit the most from a reversal. EWJ is up 12% in 2026 as of this writing. It’s also up 25% over the last 12 months and 35% over the last five years. That performance isn’t bad, but it does reflect the impact of a weakening yen. The fund does have an expense ratio of around 0.5%, which is considered expensive. But it has over $21 million in assets under management (AUM) and an average daily trading volume of around nine million shares. WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund Removes Currency RiskThe WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEARCA: DXJ) takes a different approach that investors may appreciate. The fund gives U.S. investors exposure to Japanese equities while hedging out the yen-dollar exchange rate. That removes the drag of yen fluctuations, which shows up in the fund’s performance. DXJ is up over 50% in the last 12 months and an impressive 185% over the last five years. What may be even more attractive to investors is the fund’s structure. It focuses on dividend-paying, export-oriented Japanese stocks that are typically associated more with value than growth. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.48% and over $6.6 billion in AUM as of this writing. Sony Balances Growth Opportunities With Near-Term ChallengesInvestors considering single-stock exposure would do well to consider Sony Group (NYSE: SONY). The stock is up almost 500% over the last five years, though it’s down over 10% in 2026. That reflects the diverse nature of the company’s business, which spans sectors ranging from consumer electronics and gaming hardware to an electric vehicle venture and audio intellectual property. SONY delivered mixed Q4 earnings for its 2026 fiscal year on May 7, with a beat on revenue offset by lighter-than-expected earnings per share. The company will also face headwinds from rising memory costs and a supply shortage. That’s one reason why analysts may have a Hold rating on the stock. But at 17x forward earnings, Sony is a solid choice for long-term growth and value. Toyota Could Be a Contrarian Opportunity in Japanese StocksToyota Motors (NYSE: TM) is the asymmetric play among Japanese stocks. TM is down 10% year-to-date and is only up about 20% over the last five years. That reflects the issues that have beset the auto industry. Toyota delivered mixed results in its Q4 earnings for its 2026 fiscal year. Looking ahead, the company still expects tariff headwinds. It also acknowledged that its business transformation initiatives aren’t complete, making it unclear when it will achieve its goal of 20% ROE (return on equity). That said, TM still has a consensus price target of $290, which would give investors a gain of over 50%. There’s a lot that has to go right for the company, but for investors willing to accept the risk, there could be a market-beating return. |
No comments:
Post a Comment