The following is a short list of some of the many stocks going ex-dividend during the next month, which can be helpful for traders and investors interested in the stock trading technique known as “Buying Dividends” or “Dividend Capture.” This strategy involves purchasing stocks before the ex dividend date and selling them shortly after the ex-date at a similar price, while still being eligible to receive the dividend payment.
Although this dividend capture strategy generally proves effective in bull markets and flat or choppy markets, it is advisable to exercise caution and consider avoiding this strategy during bear markets. To qualify for the dividend, it is necessary to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date and refrain from selling it until on or after the ex-date.
However, it is important to note that the actual dividend may not be paid for several weeks, as the payment date may not be until two months after the ex-dividend date.
For investors seeking a comprehensive list of stocks going ex-dividend in the near future, WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable list containing numerous dividend-paying companies. Here are a few examples showcasing the stock symbol, ex-dividend date, periodic dividend amount, and annual yield.
Comcast Corporation Class A (CMCSA)
4/1/2026
0.33
4.66%
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO)
4/2/2026
0.42
2.10%
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (GEHC)
4/2/2026
0.035
0.20%
Intuit Inc. (INTU)
4/9/2026
1.20
1.11%
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (PECO)
4/15/2026
0.1083
3.53%
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN)
4/16/2026
0.06
28.47%
Scholastic Corporation (SCHL)
4/30/2026
0.20
2.07%
To access the entire list of over 100 ex-dividend stocks, subscribers will receive an email in the next couple days with the full list. If you are not already a subscriber, you can sign up using the provided signup box below. Don’t miss out on this valuable information, and the best part is that it’s free!
Dividend Definitions
To better understand the dividend-related terms, let’s define them:
Declaration date: This refers to the day when a company announces its intention to distribute a dividend in the future. Ex-dividend date: On this day, if you purchase the stock, you would not be eligible to receive the upcoming dividend. It is also the first day on which a shareholder can sell their shares and still receive the dividend. Record date: This marks the day when you must be recorded on the company’s books as a shareholder to qualify for the dividend. Typically, the ex-dividend date is set two business days prior to the record date. Payment date: This is the day on which the dividend payment is actually made to the eligible shareholders. It’s important to note that the payment date can be as long as two months after the ex-date.
Before implementing the “Buying Dividends” technique, it is crucial to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the respective company to ensure accuracy and avoid any unexpected changes.
In conclusion, being aware of the stocks going ex-dividend can be advantageous for traders and investors employing the “Buying Dividends” strategy. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com provides a convenient resource to access a comprehensive list of such stocks, allowing individuals to plan their investment decisions effectively. Remember to stay informed and consider market conditions before employing any investment strategy.
Disclosure: Author may have positions in some of the above at the time the article was written.No investment recommendations are expressed or implied
The escalating conflict in the Middle East, particularly the military strikes involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran in early 2026, has sent shockwaves through the global energy and maritime sectors. With the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint for 20% of global oil—experiencing a 95% drop in traffic, the “oil-shipping nexus” is undergoing its most significant disruption since the 1970s.
The Geopolitical Squeeze: Oil and Freight Rates
Since the conflict escalated on February 28, 2026, Brent Crude surged past $100 per barrel, briefly peaking near $120in mid-March. This spike is a direct result of Iranian strikes on energy infrastructure and the subsequent maritime blockade in the Persian Gulf.
For shipping companies, the situation is a double-edged sword:
The Bull Case: Rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope has increased “ton-mile” demand. Suezmax tanker rates have reportedly hit staggering peaks of $400,000 to $500,000 per day as available capacity shrivels.
The Bear Case: Rising bunker fuel costs (the single largest expense for carriers) and “risk-off” sentiment in the broader stock market have tempered gains. Investors are weighing massive spot-rate windfalls against the threat of a global recession.
Marine Shipping Stock Profiles
While the sector is volatile, certain companies are positioned to navigate—or even profit from—this turbulence. Below are the profiles and financial standings of four key players as of late March 2026.
1. Costamare Inc. (CMRE)
Costamare is a leading owner of containerships and dry bulk vessels. Unlike pure tanker plays, Costamare relies on long-term charters, providing a “buffer” against immediate spot market volatility.
Profile: Headquartered in Monaco, it operates a fleet of 68 containerships and over 40 dry bulk vessels.
Financial Snapshot (TTM):
Stock Price: ~$16.79 (Down 2% in the last month; up 121% over 1 year).
Market Cap: $2.02 Billion.
Revenue: $1.09 Billion.
Net Income Margin: 33.3%.
Dividend Yield: 2.74%.
Current Outlook: Analysts maintain a Hold rating. While its revenue backlog is a solid $2.4 billion, a weaker dry bulk market has offset some of the gains seen in its container segment.
2. Danaos Corporation (DAC)
Danaos is one of the world’s largest independent owners of modern, large-size containerships, primarily chartering to giants like Maersk and MSC.
Profile: Based in Greece, Danaos focuses on high-efficiency vessels and has a significant presence in the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe lanes.
Financial Snapshot (TTM):
Stock Price: ~$111.44 (Up 155% over 5 years).
Market Cap: $2.03 Billion.
P/E Ratio: 4.17 (Indicates the stock may be undervalued).
Net Margin: 47.4%.
Dividend: $3.50 (Yielding ~3.1%).
Current Outlook: Rated as a Buy by several analysts. Its massive cash reserves ($1.04B) and low debt-to-equity ratio (30.4%) make it a favorite for “flight-to-quality” investors during regional instability.
3. Hafnia Limited (HAFN)
Hafnia is a top-tier operator of product tankers, transporting refined oil, chemicals, and gas. It is the company most directly impacted by the Hormuz crisis.
Profile: Operates a fleet of approximately 200 vessels. It provides a fully integrated platform, including technical and pool management.
Financial Snapshot (TTM):
Stock Price: ~$7.00 (Reached an all-time high of $7.68 in early March).
Market Cap: $3.60 Billion.
P/E Ratio: 10.57.
Quarterly Dividend: $0.176 (Variable based on payout policy).
Current Outlook: Hafnia is currently in a “Paradox Zone.” While spot rates are at historic highs, the stock has seen “risk-off” selling as investors fear a prolonged blockade could eventually stifle total trade volume.
4. Matson, Inc. (MATX)
Matson is a specialized ocean carrier primarily serving Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, with a high-speed service from China to Long Beach.
Profile: Unlike the others, Matson is a U.S.-based Jones Act carrier. This insulates it from some international legal risks but makes it sensitive to U.S. domestic fuel prices.
Financial Snapshot (TTM):
Stock Price: ~$163.16 (Near its 52-week high of $177.51).
Market Cap: $3.83 Billion.
EPS (2026 Est.): $13.33.
P/E Ratio: 12.00.
Current Outlook: Matson has a Strong Buy consensus. Its “China Expedited” service is becoming more valuable as traditional shipping lanes through the Middle East face delays, allowing Matson to command premium pricing.
Just remember, the price of oil can turn on a dime. Anything can happen in the Middle East, good or bad.
Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written. No investment recommendations are expressed or implied.
The relationship between geopolitical stability and utility stock performance might seem abstract, but for companies heavily dependent on fossil fuels, it is anything but. The current conflict in the Middle East has injected significant volatility into global oil markets, driving up the cost of crude.
However, for forward-looking investors, the focus is already shifting to the aftermath. When the war wraps up and the geopolitical risk premium evaporates, oil prices are likely to retreat from their current highs. This scenario creates a powerful tailwind for a specific subset of the utility sector, most notably Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE)and Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED), ultimately providing a boost to their stock prices.
To understand why, we must examine how these two distinct utilities utilize oil and why lower prices are a significant operational benefit.
The Unique Case of Hawaiian Electric: Ground Zero for Oil Sensitivity
Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE) is perhaps the most oil-sensitive publicly traded utility in the United States. Due to Hawaii’s geographical isolation, the islands have historically been unable to access the mainland’s vast interstate natural gas pipelines or large-scale hydroelectric resources.
Consequently, HE has relied on imported petroleum—primarily fuel oil—for the vast majority of its electricity generation. This dependency means that HE’s operational costs are directly coupled to the global price of crude oil.
The Benefit of Falling Prices:
When oil prices drop, HE receives an immediate and substantial benefit:
Lower Generation Costs: The primary advantage is a dramatic reduction in the cost of producing electricity. As fuel is the largest variable expense for an oil-fired plant, cheaper crude directly lowers the bottom line cost of generation.
Increased Affordability and Demand Stability: Hawaii already has some of the highest electricity rates in the nation. When oil prices are high, these costs are passed on to consumers via fuel adjustment clauses, straining household and business budgets. Lower oil prices allow HE to reduce these adjustments, making electricity more affordable and stabilizing demand, particularly in crucial sectors like tourism.+1
Improved Cash Flow for Transition: While HE is actively transitioning to renewable energy (with a 100% renewable mandate by 2045), maintaining its existing oil infrastructure is expensive. Lower oil prices improve the company’s free cash flow in the near term, providing more capital to invest in the solar, wind, and storage projects necessary to meet its long-term goals.
The Bottom Line for HE Stock: For investors, a sustainable drop in oil prices transforms HE from a utility struggling with high input costs into one with expanding margins and improved financial flexibility. This shift in sentiment is typically reflected in a higher stock valuation.
Consolidated Edison: Dual-Fuel Capabilities as a Strategic Advantage
Consolidated Edison (ConEd), serving New York City and Westchester County, has a very different profile than Hawaiian Electric. It is a massive urban utility that primarily relies on natural gas, nuclear power, and increasingly, renewables. However, ConEd has a strategic asset that makes it sensitive to oil prices: its dual-fuel capability.
ConEd maintains several large “peaker” plants that can generate electricity using either natural gas or fuel oil. These plants are called into action only during periods of extreme electricity demand (such as heat waves or severe cold snaps) or when natural gas supplies are constrained.
The Benefit of Falling Prices:
A drop in oil prices benefits ConEd primarily through enhanced operational flexibility and cost optimization:
Economic Fuel Switching: When oil prices fall relative to natural gas, ConEd can strategically switch its dual-fuel plants to run on cheaper oil. This allows the utility to choose the most cost-effective fuel source, optimizing its dispatch stack and lowering its overall cost of energy production during peak periods.
Mitigating Gas Price Volatility: Natural gas prices can be highly volatile, especially in the winter when demand for home heating competes with electricity generation. Cheap oil provides an economic “ceiling” for fuel costs. If natural gas prices spike, ConEd has the secure, lower-cost alternative of fuel oil readily available.
Enhanced Reliability at Lower Cost: The ability to use oil ensures that ConEd can meet critical peak demand without being forced to purchase natural gas at exorbitant spot market prices. This enhances the reliability of the grid in New York City while keeping costs manageable, a factor that is looked upon favorably by regulators and investors alike.
The Bottom Line for ED Stock: While oil is a smaller percentage of ConEd’s total energy mix, the strategic use of dual-fuel plants makes cheap oil a distinct advantage. Lower oil prices improve operational efficiency and protect the company from extreme natural gas price spikes, making ED’s earnings more predictable and attractive to defensive investors.
The Market View: A Catalyst for Revaluation
The utility sector is traditionally seen as a “safe haven” for investors seeking stable income and low volatility. However, when specific utilities like Hawaiian Electric and ConEd face high, volatile input costs like oil, that safe-haven status can be compromised.
A post-war environment characterized by falling oil prices acts as a significant catalyst for these companies. It directly improves their near-term financial performance, reduces operational risk, and allows management to focus capital on long-term growth and transition strategies rather than high fuel bills.
For investors who anticipate the cessation of Middle East conflict, positioning in HE and ED stocks now provides an opportunity to capture the upside of a widely anticipated economic normalization: the return of cheap, stable oil prices.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.
Historically, every major technological leap—from the steam engine to the internet—was met with “automation anxiety.” However, these technologies consistently created more jobs than they destroyed by lowering the cost of goods and services, which increased consumer demand.
Technology doesn’t just destroy jobs; it creates entirely new categories of work that were previously unimaginable (e.g., social media managers, cloud architects).
The World Economic Forum (WEF)Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects that while 92 million jobs may be displaced by 2030, 170 million new roles will be created. This results in a net gain of 78 million jobs globally. (Source:World Economic Forum, “Future of Jobs Report 2025.”)
Augmentation vs. Replacement
A critical distinction is that AI is automating tasks, not jobs. Most jobs consist of a “bundle” of tasks; AI handles the routine ones, allowing humans to focus on high-value, complex work.
AI acts as a “co-pilot,” making workers more productive. When workers are more productive, their labor becomes more valuable, often leading to higher wages and more hiring to handle the increased output.
A PwC 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer found that industries most exposed to AI are seeing 3x higher growth in revenue per worker. (Source:PwC, “2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer.”)
The “Productivity Paradox” and Economic Growth
Higher productivity through AI leads to lower prices for consumers. This “saved” money doesn’t disappear; it is spent elsewhere in the economy, creating demand for jobs in sectors like healthcare, leisure, and personal services.
AI-driven efficiency boosts Global GDP, which inherently expands the labor market.
Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could eventually increase the total annual value of goods and services produced globally by 7% (roughly $7 trillion) and boost productivity growth by 1.5 percentage points over a 10-year period. (Source:Goldman Sachs Research, “The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth.”)
Addressing the “Labor Shortage”
In many developed nations, the bigger threat is not a lack of jobs, but a lack of workers due to aging populations. AI is a necessary tool to maintain economic output as the human workforce shrinks.
AI isn’t “taking” jobs; it’s filling the gap left by a global talent shortage and declining birth rates.
According to the Korn Ferry Institute, by 2030, there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people. AI is the only way to prevent economic stagnation. (Source:Korn Ferry, “The Talent Crunch.”)
The Resilience of the Labor Market
Since ChatGPT was released in November 2022, the U.S. economy hasn’t seen a wave of mass unemployment. In fact, the labor market remained historically tight through 2024 and 2025.
Job Gains: While some tech firms saw layoffs, these were often corrections from pandemic-era over-hiring rather than “AI replacements.” Broadly, sectors like healthcare, construction, and hospitality continued to add hundreds of thousands of jobs monthly.
The Unemployment Rate: In the years following the “GenAI explosion,” the U.S. unemployment rate hovered near 50-year lows (between 3.4% and 4.0%). If AI were truly a “job killer,” we would have seen a structural climb in these numbers.
The “Income Effect” and New Demand
When AI makes a company more efficient, that company becomes more profitable. Those profits are usually reinvested in one of three ways, all of which create jobs:
Expansion: The company opens new branches or develops new products, requiring more staff.
Lower Prices: Efficiency allows for cheaper products, leaving consumers with more disposable income to spend on other sectors (gyms, travel, entertainment), which creates jobs there.
New Roles: Companies now need “AI Prompt Engineers,” “AI Ethics Officers,” and “Data Curators”—roles that didn’t exist in 2021.
Structural Adjustment vs. Mass Unemployment
The “adjustment” mentioned refers to the shift in skills. We are seeing a “hollowing out” of routine tasks, but a surge in demand for people who can manage the AI.
Complementarity: For a lawyer, AI doesn’t replace the lawyer; it replaces the 10 hours they spent summarizing documents. This allows the lawyer to take on more clients or focus on high-level strategy.
The Jevons Paradox: As a resource (in this case, data processing or content creation) becomes more efficient, the demand for that resource actually increases because it is now cheaper and more accessible.
Key Data
Even with AI integration, the BLS continues to project job growth in most professional categories through 2032.
If AI were a net job destroyer, we would see a rising unemployment rate alongside rising AI adoption. Instead, we see the opposite: businesses are using AI to bridge the gap in a labor-starved economy. We aren’t losing ‘jobs’; we are losing ‘drudgery,’ and humans are moving toward more creative, interpersonal, and strategic work.
Total US Nonfarm Employment (2022–2026)
Period
Total Employed (Millions)
Context
Nov 2022
154.16M
ChatGPT Released
May 2023
155.61M
Rapid AI integration starts
Dec 2023
156.93M
One year post-GenAI boom
May 2024
158.01M
Tech “efficiency” layoffs peak
Jan 2025
158.27M
Labor market remains resilient
Jan 2026
158.63M
Sustained growth in services/care
Source: Data compiled from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and FRED Economic Data.
As you can see from the table above, we have had three years of the most rapid AI adoption in history, yet we have 4 million more people working today than when ChatGPT was released.
The Skill-Biased Technological Change (SBTC)
AI is not deleting jobs; it is changing the composition of skills required for those jobs. While routine tasks (data entry, basic coding) are automated, the demand for “human-plus” skills—strategic oversight, emotional intelligence, and complex problem-solving—is increasing.
The Yale Budget Lab (2025) found that the “occupational mix” is shifting only slightly faster than it did during the 1990s internet boom. This is a standard evolutionary process, not a sudden collapse.
The Jevons Paradox in Action
Named after economist William Stanley Jevons, this paradox suggests that as a resource becomes more efficient to use, the total consumption of that resource actually increases.
The Software Engineering and Code Generation sector is a perfect example. This is particularly relevant because it is the industry most “threatened” by AI today, yet it perfectly illustrates how efficiency creates more work, not less.
Before Generative AI, writing a complex piece of software was expensive and slow. A company might have a backlog of 100 features they wanted to build but could only afford to hire enough developers to build 10.
AI coding assistants (like GitHub Copilot or Devin) make writing standard code 50% faster. An opponent would argue: “Now you only need half as many programmers!”
The Paradoxical Reality:
Lower Costs = Higher Demand: Because it is now 50% cheaper and faster to build software, the “cost of entry” for new projects drops. Companies that previously couldn’t afford custom software now commission it.
Expanding Scope: The company with 100 features in its backlog doesn’t fire its staff; it finally greenlights all 100 features because they are now economically viable.
The Complexity Ceiling: As code becomes easier to generate, systems become more complex. We don’t need fewer people; we need more people to architect, secure, and integrate the massive influx of new code.
Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, we haven’t seen the ‘job apocalypse’ predicted by alarmists. Instead, we have seen 4 million more Americans enter the workforce. We are not seeing the disappearance of work; we are seeing the evolutionof work.
AI is doing to the ‘mental cubicle’ what the steam engine did to the field. It is liberating us from the rote, the repetitive, and the mundane. By automating the ‘how,’ AI allows humans to focus on the ‘why’—the strategy, the empathy, and the creativity that no silicon chip can replicate.
The ‘Lump of Labor’ fallacy—the idea that there is a fixed amount of work—has been proven wrong in every century of human history. As long as humans have dreams, we will have work. We aren’t heading toward a future of unemployment; we are heading toward a future of unprecedented productivity and new industries that we are only just beginning to imagine.
Don’t bet against human ingenuity. Plan for a future where technology doesn’t replace us, but empowers us to do more than ever before.
