Smart Investor: Stocks With Dividend Increases, Warsh’s New Approach, and Earnings Where Great Wasn’t Good Enough

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This week’s highlights:

Last week saw fresh record highs for the stock market, with technology stocks again in the driver’s seat. Strong earnings have been fueling the rally. You can check out what Morningstar analysts had to say about results from two big winners: Amazon AMZN and Microsoft MSFT.

However, one notable group’s massive earnings gains have not impressed investors. Morningstar’s Karen Gilchrist tells us why AI hardware stocks have slid.

Gilchrist also recently sat down with Morningstar Wealth EMEA CIO Mike Coop. Check out the video of their conversation, in which Coop explores what the continued significant market concentration means for investors, along with his outlook for AI stocks and why the market has been able to show such resilience amid multiple headwinds.

On the economic front, the week brought the latest jobs report. Unfortunately for investors, it provided decidedly mixed signals about the economy. Still, it leaves room for the Federal Reserve to increase rates later in 2026. This comes at a time when investors are struggling to adapt to new Fed chair Kevin Warsh’s approach to communicating. Morningstar senior US economist Preston Caldwell explains why Warsh risks creating more volatility in the bond market.

Staying on the monetary policy focus, we published a close look at the impact of the Bank of Japan’s push to normalize – in other words raise – interest rates. Our colleagues at Morningstar DBRS explore the implications this significant change could have for Japanese markets and key sectors of the economy.

Lastly, we’ve updated our monthly screen of stocks that just raised dividends. More than two dozen companies upped their payouts in July, and two are considered undervalued by Morningstar analysts. Check out the article here.

As always, be sure to visit our Markets page for our latest coverage and live stock market updates, along with our full weekly calendar of key upcoming data and events.