A: Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., $187.37, symbol DKS on New York (Shares outstanding: 81.5 million; Market cap: $14.2 billion; www.dickssportinggoods.com), is a U.S. retailer focused on sporting goods.

In 1948, 18-year-old Dick Stack opened a bait-and-tackle shop in Binghampton, New York....

A: Flowserve Corp., $42.11, symbol FLS on New York (Shares outstanding: 131.7 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; www.flowserve.com), manufactures industrial pumps, valves, and other machinery for several industries that use difficult-to-handle or corrosive fluids....

A: Smurfit Westrock plc, $40.44, symbol SW on New York (Shares outstanding: 522.0 million; Market cap: $20.5 billion; www.smurfitwestrock.com), makes paper-based packaging.

The company got its start in July 2024 through a merger between Smurfit Kappa Group plc and WestRock Company.

Pre-merger, Smurfit was one of the leading corrugated packaging manufacturers in Europe and Latin America....

People generally, but investors particularly, often seem to take Donald Trump’s spoken words too seriously. For instance, Trump may say things that some people might take as veiled threats, like Vladimir Putin’s references to his stockpile of tactical nuclear weapons.

My view: if you’re going to listen to unsettling talk from powerful world leaders, it pays to think before you act.

You can take Putin’s nukes and Trump’s tariffs as possibilities or declarations, depending on your mindset....

AZEK COMPANY INC., $48.35, symbol AZEK on New York, manufactures sustainable building products focused on the outdoor living market. The company was founded in 1983 in Chicago.

Azek operates two divisions: Residential, which includes its TimberTech and Azek Exteriors brands, makes capped polymer and capped composite decking, along with railing, porch, lighting and paver products, and exterior PVC trim and moulding; and Commercial, which manufactures low-maintenance bathroom partitions, shower and dressing stalls, lockers and other storage solutions for schools, arenas, and other commercial facilities.

Azek’s residential segment generates 95% of its sales, with the commercial division accounting for the remaining 5%....

TELUS CORP., $20.60, Toronto symbol T, is a buy.

The company is Canada’s largest wireless carrier with 13.88 million subscribers (including non-cellphone devices such as tablets). It also sells landline phone, Internet and TV services in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec.

Starting in 2011, Telus began rewarding its shareholders with twice yearly dividend increases....

CONAGRA BRANDS INC., $26.68, New York symbol CAG, is still a buy for long-term gains.

Through your shares, you tap the maker of some of North America’s most popular food brands. They include Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Birds Eye frozen meals, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream.

The company reported lower-than-expected sales and earnings for its latest quarter....

RESMED INC., $205.17, is a buy. The firm, symbol RMD on New York, helps investors tap the growing market for medical devices used to treat sleep apnea. ResMed’s CPAP (nasal continuous positive airway pressure) devices are also used to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as other respiratory conditions.

With each new machine ResMed sells, it also acquires a potential long-term customer for replacement parts....

CANADIAN PACIFIC KANSAS CITY LTD., $99.86, Toronto symbol CP, is still a buy for long-term gains.

The company took its current form in April 2023 when it acquired U.S.-based railway Kansas City Southern (KCS).

CP paid $31 billion U.S. in cash and shares for KCS....

Index funds are mutual funds that invest so as to match market-index performance....