Restaurant Brands International Inc.

These two fast-food giants get most of their food and other supplies from local sources. That cuts their exposure to tariffs, which should let them keep rewarding investors with annual dividend increases.

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $71 (www.rbi.com) is a buy. The fast-food giant recently entered into an agreement to develop Firehouse Subs in Mexico. It plans to open 100 restaurants in Monterrey and other major cities in the next five years. Meantime, the company’s earnings will probably rise 11% in 2025 to $3.71 a share; the stock trades at a reasonable 19.1 times that forecast. The $2.48 annual dividend payment yields 3.5%. Restaurant Brands is a buy.

Restaurant Brands has laid out ambitious expansion plans with 7,000 new restaurants in the next five years while it pays you 3.7% & buys back shares.

Higher interest rates mean dividend-paying stocks must increasingly compete with fixed-income investments for investor interest. However, sustainable dividends still offer an attractive and growing income stream for investors.


Meanwhile, dividend-focused ETFs often follow strategies that can set investors up for maximum long-term gains with the least amount of risk....

ORACLE CORPORATION, $63.29, symbol ORCL on Nasdaq, is one of the world’s largest software providers. It started in database software but has since branched out to enterprise resource planning, human capital management, customer relationship management, and more....

A: iShares Core MSCI Canadian Quality Dividend Index ETF, $23.46, symbol XDIV on Toronto (Units outstanding: 30.4 million; Market cap: $713.2 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), tracks the MSCI Canada High Dividend Yield 10% Security Capped Index.

This index aims to invest in Canadian stocks with above-average dividend yields and steady or increasing dividends....

ADOBE INC., $299.50, is a buy. The company (symbol ADBE on Nasdaq) operates through three main segments: The Digital Media segment’s software includes Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign; the Digital Experience segment provides analytics, social marketing, targeting, media optimization, and cross-channel campaign management software, as well as premium video delivery; and the Publishing segment produces software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format....

APA CORP. $35 is a hold. The oil producer (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 338.2 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apacorp.com) and its partner Total SA recently announced a major offshore discovery near South America’s Suriname....

WARNER MUSIC GROUP CORP., $29.76, is a buy. The company’s shares (symbol WMG on New York) began trading on June 3, 2020, following an IPO.

Warner Music is one of the world’s leading music entertainment companies. Its record labels include Atlantic Records, Warner Records, and Elektra Records....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $57 is a buy. The company (New York symbol, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 460.3 million; Market cap: $26.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.8; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.rbi.com) is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator after McDonald’s (No....