Hello – When central banks, retail investors and industry all clamor for the same metal, prices don’t just rise—they can launch. Our brand-new 2025 Gold Forecast: A Perfect Storm for Demand explains why spot gold could break past $4,000 this year and how to position before it happens. Inside, you’ll discover: -
Why net-buying by central banks just hit a record first-half total, led by Turkey and India. -
How rate cuts and a weakening dollar create a powerful tailwind for precious metals. -
Three practical ways to add gold—from physical bars to high-margin mining stocks paying dividends. -
Price targets that point to $4,000 per ounce if current trends hold. This concise PDF lays out the catalysts, the risks, and the tactics—so you can decide whether to hold the metal, own the miners, or both. 👉 Download your complimentary Gold Forecast now. No cost, no credit card, just actionable research before the crowd sees the signal. See you inside, Matthew Paulson
Founder & CEO, MarketBeat P.S. Only about 2–5 % of investors own physical gold today. If the other 95% start buying, you’ll want to be in first. Grab the report now while it’s free.
Wednesday's Featured Article Buyback Boom: 3 Companies Betting Big on ThemselvesWritten by Leo Miller. Published 10/14/2025. 
Key Points - Buybacks are on the rise for three key firms, which have just added a combined $4 billion in capacity.
- Lockheed Martin and Elastic have underperformed in 2025; management may be looking to take advantage of this through repurchases.
- Meanwhile, AutoZone is surging. Management may be anticipating that this will continue.
Three companies are jumping on the repurchase train after a relatively quiet two weeks for buyback announcements. Buybacks provide multiple bullish signs to investors: they require significant cash outlays, so companies must feel reasonably confident in their ability to generate cash in the future to undertake them. They can also signal that a company views its shares as undervalued. By repurchasing its own stock, a company is essentially investing in itself — a sensible move when management believes the share price will appreciate. Every week brings new headlines of extreme weather and widespread blackouts. The U.S. power grid wasn't designed for this – and now it's failing under the pressure.
Paladin Power isn't trying to fix the grid... they're building a better alternative. Invest now and get up to a 30% bonus on shares! Buybacks also reduce a company's outstanding share count, giving a tailwind to metrics like earnings per share (EPS). Below, we dive into three firms that recently announced notable repurchase programs, sending bullish signals to investors. Lockheed Martin Boosts Buyback Coffers by $2 Billion as Shares Underperform First up is a titan of the defense industry, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). On Oct. 9, Lockheed announced it had added $2 billion to its share buyback capacity, bringing total authorization to $9.1 billion — roughly 7.7% of its approximately $118 billion market capitalization. That gives Lockheed meaningful ability to reduce its share count going forward. Lockheed's stock has returned about 6% year-to-date in 2025, well below the roughly 43% gain of the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (BATS: ITA). Given that relative underperformance, management may view the shares as undervalued, prompting the buyback boost. At its current pace — about $3 billion spent on repurchases over the last 12 months — the company could deploy the new authorization over roughly three years. Notably, shares are about 16% below their all-time high, despite the U.S. government's substantial increase in defense spending. Elastic Announces First Buyback Plan Next is a mid-cap company expanding its business through generative artificial intelligence (AI), Elastic (NYSE: ESTC). Elastic provides tools to search, understand, and secure data, increasingly powered by AI. Despite growing revenue 20% last quarter — its fastest pace in nearly three years — the stock is down around 13% in 2025. On Oct. 9, Elastic announced a new $500 million share buyback program, equal to about 5.4% of its roughly $9.2 billion market capitalization. This is Elastic's first-ever repurchase authorization, enabled by a recent improvement in cash generation. Over the last 12 months, Elastic's free cash flow was $314 million — nearly double the $160 million generated in the prior 12-month period. The company plans to use more than half of the authorization in fiscal 2026 and expects to allocate about 50% of future free cash flow to repurchases. Those repurchases should help offset dilution from significant share-based compensation, and reduced dilution is a clear benefit for shareholders. AutoZone Lifts Buyback Capacity to Over $2 Billion After Strong 2025 Gains Finally, retail auto parts giant AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) is also expanding its repurchase capacity. On Oct. 8, the company approved a $1.5 billion increase to its buyback authorization. As of last quarter, AutoZone had about $632 million remaining under the previous authorization, bringing total capacity to roughly $2.13 billion — approximately 3.1% of its $68 billion market capitalization. AutoZone has been a strong performer in 2025, up roughly 27% year-to-date and only about 6% below its September all-time high. The added authorization suggests management sees room for the rally to continue or wants to support the stock after pullbacks. Over the last 12 months, AutoZone repurchased about $1.8 billion of stock, indicating it could deploy the new capacity relatively quickly. Over the past decade, the company has reduced its outstanding share count by roughly 46%. Buybacks: Positive Signals, But Not Crystal Balls Overall, LMT, ESTC and AZO are sending encouraging signals through their buyback increases. However, buybacks are only one of many data points investors should consider before making investment decisions.
|
Post a Comment
Post a Comment