Happy Monday,

It’s Zach here with another weekly investing update for you!

Today, I’m going to share why I think the market is wrong about Visa and Mastercard, and why I used this sell-off to buy more stock. Plus, I’ll share the top dividend growth stock I’m buying now.

The Key Story

Visa & Mastercard Fall After Trump Pushes 10% Credit Card Interest Rate Cap

President Trump recently called for a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, effective January 20th, 2026.

The market immediately panicked. Stocks like Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) sold off nearly 5% on the news.

That is a rare and extreme 1-day drop for these dominant payment networks.

But I think the market is making a classic mistake.

The Misconception

Investors often confuse payment networks with lenders. Here is the reality of the business model:

• They are NOT banks: Visa and Mastercard do not issue cards themselves.

• They do NOT lend money: They do not earn interest or bear credit risk.

• They are networks: They operate the digital "toll roads" that process transactions, verify payments, and prevent fraud.

A cap on interest rates directly hurts the banks (like Capital One or Bank of America) that issue the loans. It does not directly touch Visa or Mastercard’s revenue.

The Real Risk

There is a secondary risk: if banks tighten lending standards to protect their margins, overall consumer spending volume could drop. This would lower the data processing fees Visa and Mastercard collect.

However, these companies are globally diversified. A US-specific policy only impacts a portion of their revenue, while their International and Services segments continue to print money.

2 Dividend Stocks I'm Buying Now

Visa (V)

• 1 share of $V at $327.54

• 1 share of $V at $324.54

I view this sell-off as a rare opportunity to buy one of the best businesses in history at a discount.

• High Margins: Visa boasts incredible ~50% net profit margins.

• Consistent Growth: They are compounding machines with double-digit earnings and dividend growth.

• Valuation: Visa is currently trading ~23% below the consensus price target from Wall Street analysts.

Because of the drop, Visa’s dividend yield is at a historical high (around 0.82%). While that sounds low, Visa almost never yields over 1%.

Microsoft (MSFT)

• 1 share of $MSFT at $469.57

• 4 shares of $MSFT at $462.02

I also bought much more Microsoft in one of my other accounts ($458). This is a simple case of adding to my highest conviction winner. The company continues to be a compounding machine and I continue to expect high earnings growth.

Dividend News

🚀 Dividend Raises This Week

• TRGP - Targa Resources raises quarterly dividend by 25.0% to $1.25/share

• BLK - BlackRock raises quarterly dividend by 10.0% to $5.73/share

• FAST - Fastenal raises quarterly dividend by 9.1% to $0.24/share

• LNT - Alliant Energy raises quarterly dividend by 5.4% to $0.535/share

• LKFN - Lakeland Financial raises quarterly dividend by 4.0% to $0.52/share

• SPGI - S&P Global raises quarterly dividend by 1.0% to $0.97/share

Notes:

• S&P Global (SPGI): The 1% raise is smaller than usual for them, but they noted it was calculated in consideration of their upcoming Mobility division spin-off.

• Targa Resources (TRGP): Technically, they declared $1.00 (flat) for this payment but announced the intention to raise to $1.25 for the next payment (Q1 2026). I listed the $1.25 as that is the actionable news.

That’s it for this week’s update. If you want to follow along in real time, analyze these tickers, or track your own portfolio, jump into DividendData.com. You’ll also find our Discord community and my AI research tool there. Hit reply and tell me what you’re buying—I may feature a few notes next week.

📅 Keep Investing. Stay informed.

– Zach
Founder, Dividend Data

P.S. Questions or suggestions? Reply to this email—I'd love your feedback!

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Disclaimer: Dividend Dividend (Dividend Data LLC) is not a professional financial service. All materials released from Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) are for educational and entertainment purposes. Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) is not a replacement for a professional's opinion. Contributors to the Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) might have equities mentioned in the newsletter.