For the past decade-plus, the performance record has favored growth stocks over value. Yet the tide may be changing. In 2025, value stocks and growth stocks had similar returns, with growth advancing 13.8% and value returning 13.6%. More than halfway through 2026, value stocks have climbed 16.8% while growth stocks have returned 5.7%. The post COVID-19 economy gave a lift to some of the cyclical companies (energy and regional banks), and value stocks outpaced growth stocks that year. While growth stocks led for a few years after that, history has shown other instances where value stocks have outperformed. Value stocks tend to be more resilient in times of market uncertainty and higher volatility as they are less likely to overreact to economic news. Another factor, in our view, has been the level of interest rates. If interest rates are high, discount rates will be high, and future profits will be worth less, creating an unfavorable environment for growth stocks. In any event, the value sector is the place to achieve income.

Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company. The firm was created by the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and U.K.-based Shell Transport & Trading Co. It is the seventh-largest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas 'supermajors.' The SHEL ADS are not a component of the S&P 500, and the company currently employs about 84,000 people.

The major stocks indices are all higher at midday. Bad news was good news this morning, as the nonfarm payrolls report surprised everyone. The U.S. shed 23,000 jobs last month against expectations of a gain of 80,000. The three-month average for new jobs fell to 20,000 from 111,000, and employment declined in local government, education, and retail trade. The stalwart Healthcare sector continued to grow, but at a slower pace. Meanwhile, June payrolls were revised lower by 37,000 to 20,000 and May was reduced by 66,000 to 63,000. The unemployment rate declined to 4.1%. But that generally bad news comes with some optimism, as investors are now happier about prospects for interest rates. After the report was released, the probability that the fed funds rate will end the year at the current 3.5%-3.75% target range rose to 26.2% from 18.1%. There was no expectation of a rate cut before or after the report. The probability that the funds rate will be 25 basis points higher at the end of the year rose to 44.8% from 43.3%, but the probably that rates will be higher by 50 basis points or more declined to 29% from 38.6%. With all that said, stocks are headed for a second winning week. The S&P 500 is up about 2% over the past five days, while the Nasdaq is up 3%, the DJIA is up 1.5%, and the Russell 2000 up 1.6% over the same period.

Shell is an integrated oil and gas company that explores for, produces, and refines oil around the world. In 2025, it produced 1.5 million barrels of liquids and 7.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. At year-end 2025, reserves stood at 8.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 44% of which consisted of liquids. Its production and reserves are in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and North and South America. The company operates refineries with a capacity of 1.4 mmb/d located in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and sells about 9 million tons per year of chemicals. Its largest chemical plants, often integrated with its local refineries, are in Northwestern Europe, China, and North America.