Wow, what a week!

Hey, it’s Zach here writing to help you prepare for another week of market volatility.

Trump just FLIPPED the stock market after announcing reciprocal tariffs on 4/2/2025.

That sent the market down BIG in the following two days:

• The S&P 500 index dropped over 10% - ex: $VOO ( ▼ 5.8% )  

• The Nasdaq 100 index was down more than 11% - ex: $QQQ ( ▼ 6.21% )

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.25% - ex: $DJI ( ▼ 5.5% )  

The market is fearful and all our portfolios declined, but you need to stay rational.

I gathered my thoughts on how to successfully navigate this sell off and find opportunities.

Today’s topics:

1. Black Monday

2. The Lesson of the Day

3. The Tariff Crash

4. Top Stocks Selling Off

5. Dividend Growth Stocks On Sale

6. My Activity (New Buys)

7. Meme of the Week

The Key Story

The Panic of 2025

Black Monday…

On October 19, 1987, also known as Black Monday, the Dow Jones dropped 22.6%, causing a global market crash.

That was the worst single day drop in the history of the stock market.

With this recent sell off, investors have started throwing around this story again.

Even Jim Cramer, from CNBC’s Mad Money show, predicted that this Monday could the next Black Monday.

Only time will tell…

The market is very fearful right now, at the lowest level this year.

However, times like this can create buying opportunities for the long-term investor.

Timing the bottom of the market is a fools errand. All you can do is try to find high quality investments at attractive prices.

Lesson of The Day

Focus on Quality

This is the largest sudden drop in the stock market, since the 2020 pandemic crash. At that time, I made a big mistake.

I took the “spray and pray“ approach, buying countless companies which sold off. I was spread thin in way too many lower quality stocks and missed out on great opportunities in the highest quality companies.

Don’t blow your cash too fast!

The best companies are the last to sell off and the first to recover.

So if you want to buy into great businesses, you need to make sure you keep your eye on the prize.

Stay focused… (I’m telling myself that too 😉 )

(Hint: I mentioned some my Quality list in my most recent portfolio update video)

🔥 Stock Research This Week

I sprung into action this week to provide coverage of the massive sell off following Trump’s global reciprocal tariff. Keep calm and stay logical…

1. Trump just FLIPPED the Stock Market - I’m Buying These Stocks

• New Reciprocal Tariffs: President Trump announced tariffs, significantly impacting global trade:

  • China: Tariffs increased to 54%

  • EU: 20%

  • Vietnam: 46%

  • India: 26%

  • South Korea, Japan, Taiwan: 24%-32%

• Example Stocks Impacted:

  • $AAPL ( ▼ 7.29% ) - Apple (-16%): Manufacturing primarily in China, with a growing presence in India and Vietnam.

  • $NKE ( ▲ 3.01% ) - Nike (-12%): Major production in China and Vietnam.

• My Portfolio Impact:

  • Minimal Direct Impact: Portfolio heavily weighted toward software and US-based businesses. However, there is still risk of an overall recession impacting the broader economy.

👉 Watch the Full Analysis and My Buy Strategy

2. 🚨 Top Stocks just PLUMMETED from Tariff Chaos - Buy The Dip?

Market Sell-Off: 4 Top Stocks Analyzed – Buy or Wait?

1. Apple (AAPL) – Wait and See

   • Worst single-day drop since 2020

   • High exposure to China (54% tariff), Vietnam (46%), and India (26%).

   • Revenue heavily reliant on iPhone (51%).

   • Risk of reduced margins and sales due to increased production costs.

2. Nike (NKE) – Wait and See

   • Lowest stock price since 2017.

   • Significant production in Vietnam (46% tariff).

   • Currently in a business turnaround; tariffs could impact profitability and dividend sustainability.

3. Amazon (AMZN) – Buying Opportunity

   • Down 13%, but business fundamentals remain strong.

   • Major revenue and profit growth driven by AWS, Prime subscriptions, and advertising.

   • E-commerce affected but resilient due to market leadership and diversified revenue streams.

4. Meta Platforms (META) – Buying Opportunity

   • Down nearly 14% despite strong business performance.

   • Robust earnings and revenue growth; benefiting significantly from digital advertising and AI.

   • Attractive valuation and long-term dividend growth potential.

👉 Get Full Stock Analysis and Strategy Insights

3. 📉 Dividend Growth Stocks Selling Off - Top 5 Stocks To Buy Now

Recent panic over tariff policies caused a sharp market downturn, creating buying opportunities for dividend growth investors. Here are five top dividend stocks currently at attractive discounts:

1. American Express (AXP)

   • Dividend Yield: 1.4% (best yield in the past year)

   • Dividend Growth: 12% CAGR (10-year), recently increased dividend by 17%

   • Impact of Tariffs: Indirect; concerns around reduced consumer spending, but resilient affluent customer base.

2. Comfort Systems USA (FIX)

   • Dividend Yield: 0.54%

   • Dividend Growth: Rapid growth (20.89% CAGR, 10-year); recent increases of 14.2%, 16.67%, and 20% just this past year.

   • Impact of Tariffs: Positive; benefits from increased onshoring and industrial demand.

3. T. Rowe Price Group (TROW)

   • Dividend Yield: 6.15% (highest in company's history)

   • Dividend Growth: Slowed recently (2.4% latest increase), but historically strong (9.34% CAGR, 10-year)

   • Impact of Tariffs: Negative; fee-based revenues depend on assets under management, impacted by market downturn.

4. Broadcom (AVGO)

   • Dividend Yield: Moderate; 1.61% yield

   • Dividend Growth: High historical growth (31.55% CAGR, 10-year); recent increase 11%.

   • Impact of Tariffs: Significant; manufacturing exposure in Taiwan, temporary tariff exemptions in place but future uncertainty.

5. Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL)

   • Dividend Yield: 0.59% yield (excluding special dividends).

   • Dividend Growth: Growing rapidly (recent quarterly dividend increase of 36.75%)

   • Impact of Tariffs: Minimal; benefits from structural growth trends in domestic energy production and water royalties.

👉 Explore More Dividend Opportunities and Analysis

🚀 New Dividend Raises:

The market may be selling off, but our dividends keep paying!

This is a big motivation for dividend investors to stay invested and even keep buying in market downturns. That is why dividend investing is a winning strategy.

Many companies continue to grow dividends too. Here are some examples from this week:

• $GBX ( ▼ 3.16% ) - Greenbrier raises dividend by 7%

• $UMH ( ▼ 4.95% ) - UMH Properties raises dividend by ~5%

• $OZK ( ▼ 2.01% ) - Bank OZK raises quarterly dividend by ~2.38% to $0.43/share

💰My Activity This Week

What I Bought:

I’ve been cautiously buying the dip. I’m keeping cash on the sidelines and trying to not blow it all right away. I bought 8 shares of Google, 3 shares of Microsoft, and 1 share of TPL.

My New Earned Dividends:

By the way, I share my buys & dividends on X.

If you become a member of dividenddata.com, you can get live access to my entire portfolio. Also, join a community of investors sharing their buys.

Meme of the Week

Is Buffett Buying Yet?

The lesson… We don’t know if the bottom is in.

📅 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