My favourite retail “equalizer” has already more than doubled once this year—and could again

Good morning! 👋

Millions of investors have a terrible problem on their hands.

They’re stuck on the sidelines.

I can’t blame ‘em for seeking safety, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record... how many times have we talked about the importance of being in to win??!!

You cannot run with the big dogs if you stay on the porch.

No matter.

Now that’s going to work in our favour.

Things like this usually do.

FOMO will begin to creep in around the edges.

And when it does, that could ignite a powerful rally as more people realize the train’s leaving without ‘em. Or at least a short-burn that fries those who have bet against what’s happening and who are now feeling the heat.

Here’s my playbook.

JPM proves my point (again)

I took to the air Monday and told the fabulous Ashley Webster that JPM would probably turn in solid revenues and earnings. +15% on the former and +30% on the latter if “I’ve done my math correctly,” I said.

I was wrong.

Revenue rose 25% to $39.34 billion while profits jumped 52% to $12.62. (Read)

You know what to do.

There’s still plenty of upside... although, honestly, a big pop overnight and another 7.25% today as I type isn’t too shabby.

What catches my attention—and should catch yours—is that shares are down just 4% YTD versus the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index, which has dropped -31%.

Buy the best, ignore the rest (again)!

One Bar Ahead® readers are, of course, way ahead of the game. Click here if you’d like to join ‘em. Upgrade to Paid

Keith’s Rule of the Back Page: Pentagon leaker isn’t the half of it

21-year-old National Guardsman Jack “the Dipper” Teixeira will appear in court later today to face the music for having leaked highly classified Pentagon documents, which the Pentagon calls a “very serious” risk to security. (Read)

Ya think??!!

It’s an intelligence nightmare.

What most investors fail to realize is that it’s also an incredible opportunity, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Keith’s Rule of the Back Page applies.

Estimates suggest that 90% of all the data we’ve ever created since the dawn of humanity has been created within the past few years. Somebody’s got to protect all that, and cases like this reinforce the importance of data security.

Dare I say it, but protecting our digital world may be one of the largest investing trends of our lifetime.

Commercial real estate could crash

FOX Business News reports that the commercial real estate market could crash because of high interest rates and a credit crunch. (Read)

One Bar Ahead® readers know that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Not all risks are the same.

REIT investors, as I have written for months, are at particular risk.

A few specialized choices will not only hold value... but probably continue to kick off life-changing wealth. Upgrade to Paid

You get your best apples when you prune the tree

Doug Wood, CEO of lifestyle clothing brand Tommy Bahama, says, “You get your best apples when you prune the tree”—a reference to closing underperforming stores that aren’t meeting consumer or market demand. He says doing so helps the overall market.

I agree.

But I think there’s a bigger, more valuable play at hand.

There are gobs of small stores keen to compete with the bigger players (like Tommy Bahama). They’re moving into e-commerce at a stunningly fast pace.

Software is key.

My favourite, a choice I call the “retail equalizer,” has already more than doubled once this year off its 52-week lows—and could again. The most recent pullback is an engraved invitation, to my way of thinking.

OBAers know all about it, and you’ve got another opportunity on your hands.

Do NOT miss the boat!

The best stock to buy if Kim Jong-Un goes rogue

North Korea fired a long-range missile recently. Sources debate the precise type, but it’s highly likely that it was a new [to North Korea] form of intercontinental ballistic weapon. (Read)

The Japanese ducked, with good reason.

The matchups are as unlikely as they are real.

… China vs. Taiwan

...Russia vs. Ukraine

...North Korea vs. everybody

Sadly, it could get far worse.

Honestly, I hate thinking about this stuff as much as the next person. It’s terrible and terrifying at the same time.

Yet, as is the case frequently with bad news, it’s also an opportunity.

I believe that cooler heads will ultimately prevail.

I also believe that there is not a politician on the planet who will let his or her people remain defenseless.

Raytheon has tacked on 26.2% after rising $21.07 off its 52-week lows. Another defense contractor I like perhaps even more at the moment may have the edge, though.

OBAers: You’ll want to own both under the circumstances.

Bottom Line

The most successful investors trade big, well-known names, not POS stocks you’ve never heard of.

Let that sink in.

Then get to it.

Let’s finish the week strong and MAKE it a great day!

You got this.

Keith 😊

P.S. A quick reminder: I am going to be on holiday for the next two weeks with my bride. We’re super excited because this is the first time in more than a decade that I’ve taken more than a day or two off at once. So, if you sign up for OBA (and I hope you do), please know that we’ll be resuming our regularly scheduled updates the first week of May. Meanwhile, you WILL have immediate access to the archives, videos, Masterclasses, and more to keep you busy, help get you grounded in the OBA approach, and get up to speed on tactics that can boost your results. 😊