Blue-chip dividend stocks delivered mixed returns last week as investors weighed earnings reports, dividend announcements, and shifting interest rate expectations. With 10-year Treasury yields declining to 4.09%, the relative appeal of dividend-paying equities improved, though performance varied significantly across sectors. Let's look at last week's winners in the dividend space ahead of the market opening today. Dow Futures are currently off about .2% in premarket trading,
"2025 was a year of accelerated momentum, with strong operational and financial performance across Shell." He added, "In the fourth quarter, despite lower earnings in a softer macro (environment), cash delivery remained solid and today we announce a 4% increase in our dividend and 3.5 billion dollars share buyback, making this the 17th consecutive quarter of at least three billion dollars of buybacks."
Revenue -- $2.14 billion, up 2% year over year, driven by Dow Jones and Digital Real Estate Services, with digital and AI-related revenues providing incremental uplift. Total Segment EBITDA -- $340 million, increased 5% year over year with 40 basis points improvement in margin to 15.9%. Net Income from Continuing Operations -- $150 million, compared to $149 million a year ago. Adjusted EPS -- $0.22, up from $0.20 in the same period last year.
Wells has bought back $5.5 billion of its stock so far this quarter. That's the most the bank has bought back in a single quarter all year... That is a huge sign of confidence from CFO Mike Santomassimo, who said that he's seeing green shoots now that the Fed has removed the asset cap penalty on Wells. I'd be a buyer if we didn't already own so much of it from my charitable trust.
Disney beat earnings expectations this morning but missed on revenue, a split result that underscores the tension between the company's recovery momentum and its struggle to grow the top line. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.11 versus the $1.06 estimate, while revenue landed at $22.46 billion against a $22.98 billion expectation. The stock was trading near $116 at filing. The bright spot was Parks and Experiences, where operating income climbed 13% year over year on strong domestic and international performance.
One unexpected side effect of the Magnificent 7's race to build massive AI data centers-and source the power needed to run them-is that they are reducing share buybacks to fund them, according to Goldman Sachs. Companies routinely buy back their own shares to incentivize investors for holding them, to reduce the number of shares available (thus boosting earnings per share), and to boost their own stock prices.
