December 31, 2025, Issue 18

Happy New Year

As we head bravely into 2026, let’s take a quick peek at 2025 and what is now in our rear view mirror.
We confirmed that the world is a crazy place. War continues to rage in Russia/Ukraine. War stopped (sort of?) in Gaza/Israel. Tariffs came in (illegally?), got delayed, came back, got reduced, and who knows where they go from here.
AI appears poised to take over everything from writing our papers and newsletters (not this one, of course!) to taking our jobs. Self driving cars are expanding their reach in many cities. While I am excited for the future, I would be lying if I was not terrified on some level as well.
The Toronto Blue Jays gave us Canadians something to cheer for in a big way. Some of us are still hurting over being two outs away from being World Series Champs, but ultimately losing to the Blue Menace from LA. Do we dare dream of a Stanley Cup returning to Canada? Almost halfway through the season several teams give us hope. If not, there’s always the Hurricanes! And I would be remiss to not mention the Carolina Panthers who can make the playoffs for the first time since 2017 with a win Saturday in Tampa Bay.
In the world of investing, stocks finished another great year, led once again by technology. The S&P 500 ended up 16.4%, the Nasdaq was higher by 20.3%, and the Dow Jones, lacking some tech representation still rose by 13%. Many of us cannot remember a time when stocks did not rise, but these numbers are extraordinarily high by any historical measure. Will the good times continue to roll in 2026?
They say predictions are for losers, but we all know they are super fun! So without further ado, here we go….

Best Stocks for 2026….and Beyond

Many of my readers have been asking about long term investments. While stocks in general are solid for 5+ years, and we can reduce risk by buying an ETF that mimics the S&P 500, we believe that certain individual stocks could provide superior returns if held for the longer term. These companies represent my best bets for stocks to be bought now, and put away for the next 18-24 months.
NKE – Nike is in the midst of a long term turn around in its business. 2025 was the 4th year in a row that the company’s stock was lower. But the signs are positive. The North American market ticked higher, and inventory ticked lower. China is still an issue as they are still experiencing lower sales in that part of the world. However, a renewed focus on sports, especially running, which is where Nike started, will address the issues. The decision to turn back to distribution from direct to consumer will help as well. Partners like Dick’s (Foot Locker) are already devoting more store space to the brand. The new collab with Kim Kardashian’s Skims sold out in two weeks. This week, many insiders including Elliot Hill, the CEO and Tim Cook, Apple CEO and a Nike board member bought shares on the open market. Hill bought $1M worth of stock. And anecdotally, we LOVE the new Vomero 18s, which will hopefully power me through a 10K in 2026!! We expect the stock to be in the $100 range in 24 months. It closed 2025 at $63.71. This would be a 57% gain.

Let me take a moment to discuss insider buys and sells. Too much is made of insiders selling shares of their companies. There are so many reasons people may need to sell stock. The purchase of a new home, kids going to college, helping out family members, or just rebalancing a portfolio. While most onlookers view this as negative, I do not. However, insiders buying stock with their own money (not options or stock awards) says only one thing. They believe the company is undervalued, and they are putting their money where their mouth is. I view this as a major positive.

GOOGL – When I think about all of the technology that is either here or on its way, I find it hard not to think of Google (Alphabet). The company that became a verb is in all aspects of future tech. Gemini is widely recognized as the current leading LLM/chatbot. Self-driving cars? No one has more than Waymo, and they may spin off that division as a separate company. Cloud Storage? Hello Google Cloud. Oh, and while Netflix and Paramount battle for Warner Brothers, who leads the world in streaming? Why, hi there Youtube! Just to top all of that off, they are making AI chips that compete with Nvidia. This company is poised for the future and the present. I believe this will be a $450 stock in 2 years from now, for a potential 44% return.
PANW – Companies are spending hundreds of millions on AI, and related technology. The problem? They are only spending about 102% of that on cybersecurity. This is going to become more of an issue as the criminals are always a step ahead. The beneficiary will be a company like Palo Alto Networks. They offer a full suite of security products, and are well positioned (with a company like Crowdstrike) to take advantage of this need in the market. We believe this sector in general will see rapid growth, and PANW should be $300 in 2 years from today. This would give you a 63% return if you buy it at its current level.
COF – Capital One Financial is a credit card issuer, and a growing banking presence. However, it is their purchase of Discover Cards this year that gives them their own payment processing network to rival Visa/Mastercard/Amex. We believe this current environment of lower interest rates, with potentially lower ones ahead will benefit bank stocks in general. We like COF’s growth prospects more than others. The 1.3% dividend yield does not hurt either. While we do not own shares yet, this has been on our radar for months, and the time is right. We are looking at a $320 stock in a couple of years for a 32% return.
BA – I would like to mention Boeing as it is always a stock near and dear to my heart. How can it not be? Air travel continues to run at the highest levels we have seen, and Boeing is one half of a duopoly that makes passenger jets, Airbus being the other half. While Boeing has had its issues, it looks like they are making progress, not just on the commercial side but with the combat aircraft as well. I believe this stock is headed for $300,and beyond over the next 2 years. This 38% potential return may prove to be very conservative.

Speculative Interest

As most readers will know, we have taken a few speculative positions. These are NOT gambles, but also not long term holds. To quickly recap:
SNAP – I believe the parent of Snapchat will release some interesting tech in 2026, along with the AI investment of Perplexity. Our position was built from $9.35 all the way down to $7.15. We hold our position at an average $8.15, and expect to see the $9.25-$10 range in the first quarter of the year.
PTON – We rode into Peloton at $7.41 and continued to buy down to $6.69. While we are unhappy with the performance, closing the year at $6.16, we remain undeterred. The higher monthly fees, the recall that is behind them, and the new focus on gyms and hotels will serve the company well. We expect to see $8 in the first to second quarter of this new year.
JOBY – Joby Aviation will see FAA approval for their electric air taxis in the first half of 2026. This will see the shares take off. I truly don’t know what the price target is, but I believe the sky’s the limit. Dad humor….

Sports Picks

Super Bowl Winner – The surprise of the year sees the trophy land up in north Florida. Yes, the Jacksonville turnaround goes all the way. Trevor Lawrence celebrates at The Waffle House.
Stanley Cup Winner – The Cup finds its way back to Denver as the Avalanche prove too strong for the rest of league. Quebec watches in horror as they win it in their Nordiques uniforms.
World Series/World Cup – Dad just doesn’t have insight into these baseball or soccer, but we will be pulling for Canada and the Blue Jays!!
Olympics – While we will pull for Canada in all sports, we believe the USA will take gold in hockey. Special rooting interest for Lindsey Vonn on the slopes. What she has come back from at her age is truly incredible!

Politics

With the USA facing mid-term elections in November, we are anxious to see the outcome. Our thoughts? The democrats take back the house, prompting some fantastic Truth Social posts from the president. Grab your popcorn!
In a somewhat related prediction, Mr. and Mrs. Dadsadvice, along with 2 Dasadvice Juniors will be able to take their citizen tests here is the USA in September. After much nerve wracking studying, all 4 pass….barely!

Thought of the Day

I started writing this newsletter a number of months ago, and it has become the highlight of my week. I am determined to get to 2 days per week, so stay tuned. I love all of my readers, and I wish you all health, joy, and prosperity in 2026!!