Which dividend stocks are of interest to you at the moment? $BMW (+1,93%)
$V (+0,35%)
$PEP (-1,65%)
$MDLZ (-2,45%)
$VNA (+1,83%)
$MBG (+3,18%)
$DHL (+2,29%)

Today I treated myself to a little shopping trip.

My main aim was to strengthen my core. To do this, I first added $ALV (+2,58%) into the depot.

I continued with increases in $DHL (+2,29%) and $TDIV (+1,18%) .

I also built up and expanded satellite positions.

At first I was $CRM (+0,92%) was a bit of a laugh. When I see how far we are at the beginning of implementing $CRM (+0,92%) in our company (Fortune 500), I am not worried about the business model. I'm happy to take advantage of what I see as an exaggerated sell-off after some AI headlines.

The expansion of the position at $INTU (+0,6%) . The nice thing is that both pay dividends.

Last but not least, there was some risk and Fomo. I have been looking at the wikifolio of our dear @Epi for a long time, and today I managed to get into $DE000LS9U6W1.

At $PNG (+7,24%) I have to admit that I had FOMO here. I've been following the news for a while and certainly got in far too late. But the position is correspondingly small and still fits in with the defense weighting in my portfolio.

All in all, I feel very comfortable with my decisions. Core significantly strengthened, dividends increased, some satellites added in the growth area and small zooms.

What do you think of my new additions and position increases?

Edit: my annual dividend has increased by a nice 10% to just under € 2350 gross.

DAX companies want to buy back their own shares on the stock market for a record 54.6 billion euros and have launched corresponding buyback programs. This year alone, shares worth 26 billion euros are likely to be taken off the market.

This is according to calculations by the Handelsblatt Research Institute. This is based on announcements made by the DAX companies and their recently presented balance sheets for the past financial year.

23 of the 40 DAX companies are currently acquiring their own shares or intend to do so in the coming months. 16 intend to spend one billion euros or more, with Deutsche Post $DHL (+2,29%)Siemens $SIE (+3,63%) and Siemens Energy $ENR (+4,43%) with six billion euros each and SAP $SAP (+1,57%) with ten billion euros.

"The high share buyback programs, together with the continued high dividends, are an important basis for the Dax remaining a promising investment despite difficult geopolitical conditions," predicts Commerzbank analyst Andreas Hürkamp.

No wonder buybacks are popular with investors: The programs tighten the supply of shares. This means that future profits and dividends are spread over fewer shares. Both effects usually drive up the share price.

However, share buybacks are controversial. They reduce companies' liquidity, which could soon be needed in view of the market turmoil caused by the war in the Middle East and the resulting threat of earnings losses.

Apple is the world's largest buyback buyer $AAPL (+2,28%). The iPhone specialist spent 96.7 billion dollars on the purchase of its own shares in the last four quarters, compared to 755 billion dollars in the last ten years. Since 2013, when Apple acquired its own shares on a large scale for the first time, its share portfolio has fallen by 44 percent, according to calculations by Handelsblatt.

A study conducted by US investment bank Goldman Sachs last fall shows that shares in companies that regularly buy up a large number of their own shares perform better. According to the study, shares in S&P 500 companies that have reduced their number of shares by four percent per year have outperformed the overall market by an average of three percentage points per year since 2012.

Goldman Sachs refers to such intensive buybacks as "buyback aristocrats" - in reference to the so-called "dividend aristocrats". These are companies that have increased their dividends for at least 25 years. In addition to Apple, the buyback aristocrats include the food group Mondelez $MDLZ (-2,45%)the healthcare specialist McKesson, the insurer Loews and the financial companies Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Visa $V (+0,35%)Mastercard $MA (+0,39%) and American Express $AXP (+1,02%).

However, the financial structure of such companies is not improving. It is true that earnings per share increase following the withdrawal of repurchased shares. "At the same time, however, the risk structure of the company changes," analyzes balance sheet expert Philipp Immenkötter from asset manager Flossbach von Storch in a detailed analysis of share buybacks.

He argues that the acquisition of shares reduces the company's liquidity and increases its debt as equity decreases. "Both effects increase the risk and thus depress the valuation," explains Immmenkötter. "Ultimately, the effects balance each other out so that this cannot result in a price increase."

However, a share buyback will result in a sustained price increase if the buyback leads to a better assessment of the share by the market. This can happen, for example, when companies buy back their own shares if they are undervalued - or when companies buy back their own shares because they generate high profits and want to return these to shareholders not only through dividends but also through share buybacks.

Source text (excerpt) & graphics: Handelsblatt, 25.03.2026

$KSPI (+2,38%)
$NCLH (+5,73%)
$STNE (+2,31%)
$BEI (+1,76%)
$SE (+5,56%)
$ONON (+5,61%)
$TGT (+0,7%)
$GTLB (+2,03%)
$CRWD (+3,15%)
$BAYN (+2,51%)
$WIX (+2,49%)
$ADS (+4,92%)
$AVGO (+5,55%)
$DHL (+2,29%)
$R3NK (+6,79%)
$JD (-0,89%)
$BILI (+6,21%)
$1913 (+2,02%)
$MRK (+1,43%)
$MRVL (+14,5%)
$GPS (+0,87%)
$COST (-0,94%)
$IOT
$LHA (+2,31%)

$DHL (+2,29%) has today experienced a considerable decline of just under -5%.

I have not found any reasons for this with a quick online search. Has anyone heard/read anything?

Finally some positive news with expansion and new locations:

https://www.boerse-express.com/news/articles/dhl-aktie-herausragende-prognosen-866170

One of the top 15 stocks in my portfolio in terms of weighting and perhaps a reason to increase the weighting here?

Quarterly figures are due on March 5. I think I'll be watching until then, but I still find the price of €48 interesting.

With the capital released from our

partial sale of $DHL (+2,29%) we bought shares in Microsoft.

Microsoft is currently valued at a relatively low P/E multiple. The stock market is critical of the high expenditure on data centers. This has led to a sharp sell-off in the recent past, despite double-digit profit growth.

In our view, Microsoft has become a reliable dividend payer with high dividend growth. In our view, the relatively cheap US dollar also made it a good time to buy.

Microsoft is thus the first of the Big6 IT companies in our value portfolio.

We will publish a detailed stock analysis on our YouTube channel shortly.

What do you think of the acquisition?

Having already had good experience with a partial sale of DHL, we have halved our position again.

The reason for this is the high weighting of around 10% in the portfolio and the realization of price gains. We re-entered DHL after an earlier partial sale at prices of around EUR 35 and have now realized our price gains of just under 50%.

What do you think of this investment decision?

As mentioned in an earlier post, I've been playing the lottery with my grandma since the beginning of 2025 and reinvesting the winnings in shares in $DHL (+2,29%) where she used to work. The investment is therefore very personal and not designed for maximum return. The aim is rather to subsidize the lottery with the capital gains and to pay for the lottery tickets in full with the DHL dividend in the future.

I am satisfied with the statistics so far. Since the beginning, the values are as follows:

Lottery tickets: -142€

Lottery winnings: +81€

Price gains: +18€

Dividends: €1.92

Total loss: approx. 41€

In this case, the actual monthly costs for playing the lottery amount to approx. 3.20€. We took part in both draws every week.

The good results are largely due to the relatively high lottery winnings and the high price growth. It can therefore be assumed that the costs will increase over time as soon as the lottery winnings converge to the expected value or the share price growth decreases. At the same time, the increase in dividends due to new purchases and higher distributions will counteract this. The distribution is made annually, which is why purchases after May 2025 are not included in the dividend payment. The distribution in May 2026 is therefore expected to be twice as high.

Leading The Charge - Turning risk into reward with a circular economy for EV batteries and critical minerals, a white paper published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation during the 2026 World Economic Forum, is the first integrated, actionable roadmap for a circular value chain for EV batteries based on real-world industrial practice.

It is also an important milestone in the collaboration between CATL and the Foundation.

The report was developed with input from over 30 leading organizations from across the EV battery ecosystem - including CATL $3750 (-1,83%), DHL $DHL (+2,29%), Volvo $VOLV A (+3,74%) and JLR, as well as research institutions and NGOs - and provides clear, industry-focused direction on how EV batteries need to be designed, used, recovered and recycled to maximize their value and reduce systemic risks across the value chain.

As a strategic founding partner of the Foundation's Critical Minerals Mission, CATL worked closely with the Foundation and industry peers to translate circular economy principles into practical, actionable measures based on real-world operational experience. The roadmap also supports CATL's global commitment to the circular economy in energy, including its long-term goal of decoupling battery market growth from the extraction of new raw materials.

It highlights the environmental, economic, product development and overall value creation opportunities that a circular EV battery system can provide.

By reusing batteries and their critical minerals over multiple life cycles, the need for newly mined materials is reduced, emissions are lowered and the integration of renewable energy is promoted. It also increases economic value by improving material efficiency, reducing waste and operating costs and creating new revenue streams. At the same time, it strengthens supply chain resilience and distributes economic benefits more equitably across regions, demonstrating that a systemic, circular approach transforms potential risks into strategic, value-creating opportunities.

》Five bright spots for a circular EV battery system《

The white paper identifies five interlinked actions required to keep battery materials in high-quality use and strengthen the resilience of the system:

● Design batteries for the circular economy, not for disposal

● Rethink battery service within optimized energy mobility systems

● Scaling circular business models that treat batteries as long-term assets

● Building regional circular infrastructures and co-investing in them

● Enabling a circular operating system through data, standards and guidelines

》CATL measures already in practice《

CATL is already implementing these measures at system level in all its operations. By separating the battery from the vehicle, CATL manages batteries as centrally managed assets, increasing utilization, enabling scheduled maintenance and ensuring a predictable end-of-life return on investment.

Today, CATL operates more than 1,000 swap stations for passenger cars and over 300 for commercial vehicles, supported by a growing ecosystem of more than 100 partners.

This system integration enables high-quality recovery on a large scale. CATL's recycling activities achieve recovery rates of 99.6% for nickel, cobalt and manganese and 96.5% for lithium, with processing capacity expanding to 270,000 tons per year.

In parallel, CATL is deploying alternative chemistries such as sodium-ion batteries, using widely available materials and reducing lifecycle carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour by up to 60%, improving circular performance in the mobility, exchange and energy storage sectors.

》Scaling together《

At the Foundation's Leadership Briefing, Jiang Li, Vice Chairman and Board Secretary of CATL, emphasized: "This report marks an important milestone in the global journey towards a circular economy for batteries. Circular battery systems now need to be scaled across regions, industries and applications - from electric vehicles to energy storage - and adapted to different market contexts."

"With the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, a circular economy for batteries and critical minerals is no longer optional - it is essential for affordability, resilience and long-term growth while reducing environmental and social impacts," said Wen-Yu Weng, Executive Leader for Critical Minerals at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. "EV batteries are strategic assets, and circular approaches are key to preserving their value and ensuring that critical minerals never become waste. We welcome CATL's contribution and look forward to continuing to work together to scale a truly circular battery system and support the wider energy transition."

For CATL, this agenda directly underpins its journey to carbon neutrality - building on the achievement of carbon neutrality at all its battery plants and its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2035.

The publication of the report marks a first milestone in the broader collaboration between CATL and the Foundation to accelerate the circular economy for critical minerals. The next phase will focus on testing these approaches in real-world settings to understand how design, use, life extension, collection and recycling loops interact at scale

After more than 25 years of negotiations, the EU and the South American economic alliance Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay) have concluded a historic free trade agreement. This creates one of the largest free trade zones in the world - with over 700 million people and a combined economic area worth around 22 trillion USD.

This agreement could trigger global economic and stock market effects - for companies, industries and investors.

_________________________

🛃🚢 What will happen to the Mercosur agreement?

• Tariffs on up to 91% of EU exports and 92% of Mercosur exports are to be gradually eliminated.
• The aim is to create a larger single market, better market access, simplified rules and more stable trading conditions between Europe and South America.
• Until now, high tariffs have applied to cars (approx. 35%), machinery (14-20%) and chemical products (up to 18%).

_________________________

📊 Possible effects on the stock market

📈 1. industries with strong exports benefit from higher demand

Europe can sell its products more easily in South America:

• 👩‍🏭 Cars & car parts
• 🏭 Mechanical engineering
• 🧪 Chemicals & pharmaceuticals
• 🪄 Electronics & high-tech

The elimination of customs duties and fewer trade barriers will increase the margins and competitiveness of these industries.

Possible examples of Frofiteurs:

• VW $VOW (+1,79%) BMW $BMW (+1,93%) Daimler $DTG (+3,12%)
• Siemens $SIE (+3,63%)
• BASF $BAS (+0,4%) Covestro $1COV (-0,07%)
• SAP $SAP (+1,57%) , ASML $ASML (+5,28%)

➡️ Expected share price impetus from higher export revenues and capped production costs.

_________________________

🍖 2. agricultural & food sector in focus

The agricultural business is also becoming more closely networked on both sides:

• Tariffs on wine, oil, cheese, dairy products and luxury foods are being reduced or gradually created.
• EU producers will gain greater market access in South America; conversely, South American agricultural exports (e.g. beef, sugar) will have better access to the EU.

Possible beneficiaries:

• Nestlé $NESN (+1,24%) Danone $BN (+2,05%)
• Heineken $HEIA (+2,81%) AB InBev $ABI (+1,16%)
• FrieslandCampina $FCEPL

⚠️ However, critics point out that price pressure on local farmers* also arises and environmental risks can increase, for example due to cheaper imports.

_________________________

🚗 3. raw materials & energy: medium to long-term effects

Mercosur countries export large quantities of raw materials:

• Soy, sugar, coffee, ethanol, grain
• Brazil is also a major supplier of crude oil and minerals

One of the aims of the agreement is more stable commodity trade with fewer tariffs, which can influence commodity prices and move the shares of commodity and energy companies.

Possible beneficiaries:

• Vale $VALE3 (+2,83%) Petrobras $PETR3 (-2,52%)
• Bunge $BG (-0,79%) , ADM $ADM (+0,21%)

_________________________

🏦 4. finance & services sector

The agreement also facilitates:

• Market access for financial services
• Opening of telecom and transportation markets
• Opening of public procurement to EU suppliers

➡️ This could strengthen banks, insurers and logistics companies that operate across borders.

Possible beneficiaries:

• Allianz $ALV (+2,58%) Deutsche Bank $DBK (+4,16%)
• DHL/Deutsche Post $DHL (+2,29%) Kuehne + Nagel $KNIN (+3,4%)

_________________________

🔄 Short-term market risks

Not everything is automatically positive:

• 🇪🇺 Agricultural protests in Europe show resistance to cheap imports.
• Political uncertainties remain - many parliaments need to ratify.
• Sectors with low competitiveness could come under price pressure.

_________________________

📌 Conclusion

The Mercosur agreement could be an issue with far-reaching effects:

✅ Strong export industry gains new sales markets

✅ Agricultural and luxury food sector gains sales opportunities

✅ Financial and service sector benefits from market expansion

✅ Raw material exporting countries in South America could become more integrated

⚠️ At the same time, there are risks for local producers and price distortions that could have a regional impact on share prices

_________________________

Question for you: What is your opinion on the agreement? And in which sectors or listed companies do you see the biggest winners in the long term?

_________________________

Sources:

- 🌎🤝 Mercosur-Freihandelsabkommen zwischen EU & Mercosur unterzeichnet – größte Freihandelszone weltweit

- 💶📈 Wirtschaftliche Chancen für EU-Exporteure und Importeure durch Zollerleichterungen

- ⚙️🚗 Branchenanalysen mit Zollabbau-Effekten für Maschinen, Autos, Chemie etc.

- 🌾🥩 Agrar- und Rohstoff-Impakte durch neue Marktchancen und Quotenregelungen