Everyone is watching Iran.
The drones. The missiles. The Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices are spiking. Gas is up 43 cents in a single week.
But according to this bombshell exposé from investment analysts Porter Stansberry and Luke Lango… Iran isn't the real story. The real story is what Trump just did to China.
You see, China buys 90% of Iran's oil exports.
Last year alone, Iran shipped 520 million barrels of crude to Chinese ports.
But it goes deeper than that. 50% of all China's oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Right now, that strait is a ghost town. Commercial ships have stopped moving through it.
That means China's energy lifeline just got severed.
And here's where it gets critical: China needs that energy to power its AI war machine. Since 2021, China has added more power capacity than the U.S. has built in its entire history.
Goldman Sachs says China will have three times the world's entire data center demand in spare capacity by 2030. That's their edge. That's how they plan to win the AI race.
But without oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz… without Iran's 520 million barrels a year… that edge starts to crumble. This isn't a war about nukes. It's a war about who controls the energy that powers the next era of artificial intelligence.
And it's exactly why Trump signed Executive Order 14365:
Declaring AI and advanced computing "strategic national assets" under direct federal protection. The U.S. isn't just bombing Iran. It's cutting off China's fuel supply for the AI arms race.
Porter and Luke predicted this convergence.
They call it America's New 1776 Moment – where economics, technology, and geopolitics collide to create what could be the largest wealth transfer in American history.
And they've identified the assets at the center of this collision… along with the 10 stocks they say you need to SELL immediately.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE "NEW 1776" BRIEFING
Editor's Note: With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, oil prices surging, and the AI arms race accelerating, this may be the most important briefing Porter has ever released.
Whether you're holding energy stocks, tech stocks, or "safe" blue chips – the rules just changed. Get the full details here.
PepsiCo Stock Reversal Points Toward New All-Time Highs
Written by Thomas Hughes. First Published: 4/16/2026.
Key Points
- PepsiCo's stock price reversal gained momentum after Q1 results showed improving business trends.
- Cash flow and capital returns are reliable and expected to improve in the coming year.
- Analysts and institutions underpin the market action, pointing to fresh all-time highs by year's end.
- Special Report: Elon Musk already made me a “wealthy man”
PepsiCo’s (NASDAQ: PEP) stock price hit bottom in mid-2025 and began to reverse course after years of end-market normalization, company-specific headwinds eased, and the impacts of turnaround efforts started to show traction.
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Get the full details in our urgent briefingThat traction — in the form of revenue growth and margin improvement — continued over the ensuing quarters and strengthened further in fiscal Q1 2026, when the turnaround story gained additional credibility.
Q1 results beat expectations, revealing strength in core and growth markets. Stock price action confirmed support at a critical level near $153.50, signaling the reversal is in full force and on track to advance through the year. That level aligns with prior resistance and the baseline of a Head & Shoulders reversal pattern. A Head & Shoulders reversal typically consists of a low, followed by a lower low, then a higher low; it is not confirmed until the baseline is broken.
The baseline is a pivot: when price moves above it, market dynamics shift from distribution to accumulation. Head & Shoulders patterns are significant to technical traders because they often lead to short-term rallies at least equal to the pattern's magnitude and can precede longer-term uptrends. In this case, PepsiCo appears back on track to sustain growth over the next several years, meaning its uptrend can continue until the outlook changes.
PepsiCo on Track for New All-Time Highs This Year
PepsiCo’s reversal pattern spans roughly $24, from a low near $129.50 to $153.50. Projecting that dollar amount from the baseline yields a target near $177.50; projecting the percentage (approximately 18%) yields a target near $181.15. That target range corresponds to 18-month highs for the stock and could be achievable given the stock’s valuation as of mid‑April 2026.
Trading near $155, PEP is valued at under 18X forward earnings — roughly six points below parity. Based on that relative undervaluation, PepsiCo’s stock could advance by more than $50 to exceed $200 in the near-to-mid term, establishing a fresh all-time high. Over a longer horizon, the stock is trading below 12X its 2035 forecast — likely a conservative estimate — suggesting meaningful upside potential over time.
Institutional activity supports the idea that the mid-2025 bottom is a firm floor. While PEP could correct if a negative catalyst emerges, institutional investors are likely to buy shares so long as fundamentals remain intact. Institutions own more than 70% of the shares and have been net accumulators for eight consecutive quarters. Activity accelerated in Q1 2026, reaching a multi-year high, with the ratio of shares bought to sold exceeding 3-to-1. That is a powerful tailwind likely to persist into Q2 and the remainder of 2026, if not strengthen.
Analysts are also supportive of PepsiCo's price action and could provide additional catalysts in Q2. The 20 analysts tracked by MarketBeat rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy, with a 40% Buy-side bias. The consensus price target implied roughly 10% upside at the time of the release, though some recent reductions have capped potential gains at the high end.
A broader market catalyst could be a shift to more bullish analyst actions, such as price-target increases and upgrades. Until then, consensus sentiment and the price target have been relatively stable over the trailing 12 months despite active revisions, reflecting steady conviction at those levels.
PepsiCo Grows and Outperforms in Q1: Capital Returns Are Safe and Reliable
PepsiCo reported a solid quarter with 8.5% revenue growth, underpinned by 2.6% organic growth, 2.5% acquisitional growth, and a 3.4% currency-related tailwind. Top-line and organic growth both accelerated sequentially and outpaced last year’s levels, driven by strength across all segments. Europe, the Middle East, and APAC were the strongest regions, growing by 7%, with notable gains also in the International Beverage Franchise, Latin America, and core U.S. markets.
Growth was supported by brand investments and pricing initiatives focused on affordability. Importantly, pricing dynamics helped drive volume growth in key categories and aided systemwide margin improvement. Operating margin expanded by 210 basis points, leaving adjusted EPS at $1.61 — a leveraged 9% increase versus the 8.5% revenue gain and more than a nickel above expectations.
Investors should also note the strength of cash flow and its impact on capital returns. Net income approached $2.3 billion for the quarter, sufficient to cover the dividend and leave the company in a solid financial position. Dividends yield an annualized 3.65%, and share repurchases totaled nearly $2.1 billion, incrementally reducing the share count year over year. Balance sheet highlights show increases in cash, assets, and equity, with long-term debt roughly two times equity — no immediate red flags.
Fastenal Stock Slips After Earnings: 5 Reasons To Buy the Dip
Written by Thomas Hughes. First Published: 4/14/2026.
Key Points
- Fastenal pulled back following its FQ1 release, opening a buying opportunity for long-term buy-and-hold investors.
- Cash flow and capital returns are sound, underpinning the stock price uptrend.
- Analysts and institutions accumulate and support the action in Q2 2026.
- Special Report: Elon Musk already made me a “wealthy man”
Fastenal’s (NASDAQ: FAST) stock price slipped after its Q1 2026 earnings report, creating a potential buying opportunity. Five reasons investors should consider acting now include double-digit growth, solid margins, strong cash flow, consistent capital returns, and continued sell-side support.
Together, these factors point to improving shareholder value and potential upside over time. The company can sustain growth, margins, and cash flow, which should allow it to keep returning capital and increasing its payout each year.
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Get the full details in our urgent briefingFastenal is a high-quality dividend stock, having raised its payout for more than 25 consecutive years and appearing positioned to continue doing so. The main concern is the payout ratio, which at nearly 90% of earnings is relatively high.
That risk is mitigated by a solid earnings-growth outlook and a fortress-like balance sheet, allowing the company to invest in growth while returning cash to shareholders. Recent investments in 2025 and early 2026 have focused on technology, which is already visible in the company’s strong performance.
Balance-sheet highlights show no red flags for this construction-related distributor. Increases in cash, current assets, and total assets were only partly offset by higher liabilities, leaving equity up year-to-date. Leverage remains low — long-term debt is under 0.25x equity — and the company carries a net cash position. Equity gains are expected to continue through the year.
Fastenal Grew by Double-Digits, But the Market Wanted More
Fastenal’s post-release price pullback is a classic example of good results that weren’t enough to exceed elevated market expectations. Q1 revenue of $2.2 billion, up 12.2% year over year, was already largely priced in and therefore didn’t spark a rally. Still, that double-digit growth is consistent with the company’s longer-term outlook and underpins the stock’s longer-term uptrend.
Operationally, the report was encouraging: average daily sales rose 12.4%, driven by demand and market-share gains. The company posted double-digit increases across all segments and end markets. The weakest area was non-contract sales, which grew 6.7%, while contract sales climbed 14.6%.
Margin trends were also constructive. Gross margin dipped slightly, but revenue leverage and disciplined spending more than offset the decline. As a result, operating margin expanded by 20 basis points (bps), GAAP earnings rose 13.6%, and operating cash flow exceeded net income.
Operating cash flow remains ample to cover dividends, share repurchases, and balance-sheet priorities. Share buybacks aren’t large, but they offset share-based compensation and help keep the share count roughly steady each quarter.
Analyst Revision Trend Intact and Leading FAST to New Highs
Analysts reacted cautiously to the report, noting gross-margin pressure and revenues that matched expectations, but they didn’t issue negative earnings revisions. The only early change was a price-target increase from Bank of America to $55 while maintaining a Buy rating — a target above consensus, offering meaningful upside from mid-April support and sufficient to reach an all-time high if realized.
Institutions, the analysts’ silent partners, remain bullish. They own more than 80% of the stock and have been net buyers over the past year. MarketBeat data show institutions buying at a pace of more than $5-to-$1, which provides solid support and a bullish tailwind unlikely to fade quickly. The likely scenario is that analyst sentiment and institutional buying continue to underpin the stock and push it toward new highs over time.
Fastenal’s primary operational catalyst this year is digitization. The company is accelerating its own digital transformation while helping clients do the same. Products such as FASTBin and FASTVend inventory systems are driving adoption and could accelerate alongside broader digitization trends.
Digitization — increasingly powered by AI — is improving efficiency and sales for customers, and expansion into new verticals is adding momentum. Healthcare, education, and government sectors have shown receptivity to Fastenal’s digitized inventory solutions.
The main headwinds are tariff-related input-cost pressures, which have squeezed gross and operating margins and may persist. While quality improvements are cushioning the impact for now, inflationary pressure from geopolitical tensions involving Iran and higher oil prices is a concern. From a technical perspective, resistance near $48.50 suggests the stock could remain range-bound until later in the year, when more clarity and additional news provide direction.
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