Smart Investor: Best Dividend Stocks, K-Shaped Risks, and Crypto IPOs

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In this week’s newsletter:

• Weekly Market Update: Stocks Down as Utilities Rise and Financial Services Fall
• Why a ‘K-Shaped’ Economy Means More Risk for Stock Investors
• Despite Bitcoin’s Plunge, These Crypto IPOs Are Seen on Deck for 2026
• The Value Stock Comeback Is Messy. Here’s Why Investors Shouldn’t Turn Away
• Inflation Softens, but Fed Rate Cuts Seen on Hold
• Why Alts Manager Stocks Are Getting Hit Hard
• The 10 Best Dividend Stocks

The story these days in the stock market is churn. At a high level, stocks are close to record highs, despite the AI worries bubbling up. This past week brought supportive economic news in the form of a stronger-than-expected January jobs report and a reading on inflation that came in just below forecasts. Though the Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates steady into the summer, this a favorable backdrop.

One of the key tailwinds for the economy has been strength in consumer spending. However, all is not as well as it might seem, as seen in what economists call the “K-shaped” economy–meaning the wealthiest are feeling much better and spending relatively more than the lower-income rungs. There are many policy ramifications for this two-tiered economy, but it also has implications for the stock market. As Sarah Hansen writes, with the sentiment among wealthier investors so closely tied to the stock market, there could be negative feedback loop should the bull market turn south.

Amid this churn, the big story has been the stumble in technology and other growth stocks. While there’s no doubt that some big growth names have taken it on the chin, Morningstar Indexes strategist Dan Lefkovitz says some definitional questions may be making the value stock revival look better than it is. Still, he comes down solidly on one thing: Value stocks are good diversifiers. Check out Dan’s great read here.

Speaking of undervalued stocks, we’ve updated our list of the 10 best dividend stocks to buy. These income-paying names have economic moats and have been trading in 4- or 5-star territory. The list includes a handful of consumer companies, as well as an alternative strategies fund manager that got caught up in a private-credit-driven selloff.

Lastly, after a months-long bloodbath for cryptocurrencies, the price of bitcoin seems to have stabilized (at least for now) at a level nearly half what it was in October. That collapse doesn’t seem to bother the venture capital backers of digital asset companies that are looking to go public. We teamed up with our colleagues at PitchBook to look at just how poorly the past year’s crypto IPOs have fared, and which names could go public in 2026.

As always, be sure to visit our Markets page for our latest coverage and live stock market updates, along with our full weekly calendar of key upcoming data and events.