Alphabet is a holding company that wholly owns internet giant Google. The California-based company derives slightly less than 90% of its revenue from Google services, the vast majority of which is advertising sales. Alongside online ads, Google services houses sales stemming from Google’s subscription services (YouTube TV and YouTube Music, among others), platforms (sales and in-app purchases on Play Store), and devices (Chromebooks, Pixel smartphones, and smart home products such as Chromecast). Google’s cloud computing platform accounts for roughly 10% of Alphabet’s revenue. The firm’s investments in up-and-coming technologies such as self-driving cars (Waymo), health (Verily), and internet access (Google Fiber) make up the rest.

Sustainable Impact Investing is gaining traction not only with Argus Research clients but also with the global investment community. As assets have flowed in over the past 40 years, Sustainable Investing has evolved. The discipline, originally known as Socially Responsible Investing, first focused on excluding companies that conducted business in South Africa, or participated in industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms. In time, the list of industries to avoid increased to include soft drinks, fast food, and oil and gas, among numerous others. Performance of initial strategies lagged, and the approach has been modified. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all industries that can have an "impact" on global issues such as climate, hunger, poverty, disease, shelter, and workers' rights. Given the strategy's focus on leading management practices, we expect the growth curve for Sustainable Investing to again slope upward in the years ahead.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership trends. Form 13-Fs, which institutions must file to report their holdings, are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have now come in from 1Q26. We like to review the 13Fs of major activist investors -- including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, Starboard Value and ValueAct Holdings, among others -- in order to determine their core holdings and new purchases. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Activists have made progress in the past year, with high-profile investments into blue-chip companies such as Fedex and Union Pacific. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, as well as other high-profile money managers.

The S&P 500 just delivered an impressive April, up 10.5%, before dividends. If the track record holds, the positive trend may continue for the next few weeks. The stock market typically rises in May, on average up 1.1% and with a 72% winning percentage. We note that market returns in May have exceeded 5% on seven occasions since 1980, including a 6.9% gain last year. Still, there have been some clunkers in May, including 2019 (a painful 6.6% drop), 2010 (an 8.2% value wipeout), 2012 (down 6.0%) and 1984 (off by 5.9%). May begins as a busy month on Wall Street, as companies report earnings and the Non-farm Payrolls report is released. But once the retailers wrap up their results in the middle of the month, investors this year will be left to ponder the war in the Middle East, inflation trends, future Federal Reserve activity, the risk of recession, and the long Memorial Day weekend. Looking ahead, our platform for stocks in 2026 has been bullish, as we have expected the economy to grow (check), interest rates to decline (check), and earnings to expand at a double-digit rate (check). The wild card has been the war. Stocks are coming off three double-digit return years (from 2023 through 2025) and a possible pause in the rally is not unexpected in 2026, especially as it is a midterm election year. End of day, given the geopolitics-driven volatility in the markets, we recommend a continued focus on quality stocks with strong earnings trends.