👉 Cintas Corp. Hikes Dividend +15%

👉 Week in Review — Too Long; Didn’t Read:

Key Earnings Announcements:

• Micron’s newly-formed Cloud Memory business accounted for 40% of revenue

• Costco’s adj. EBITDA is expected to compound +11% annually through 2028

• Cintas increased their dividend by +15%

Investor Events / Global Affairs:

• Trump introduced new tariffs on pharma & big trucks.

• Nvidia announced a $100B OpenAI deal.

• Electronic Arts may be part of the largest leveraged buyout of all-time.

Economic Updates:

• The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge held steady in August (+2.9%).

• The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly two years during Q2.

Happy Sunday.

In case you’re new around here, I’m Austin Hankwitz — I’ve been publishing earnings analysis on publicly-traded companies for over half a decade. My podcast, Rich Habits, has hit #1 on Spotify’s Business Podcast chart four times since it’s inception only two years ago.

At the start of 2023, I began my journey of building a $2M Dividend Growth Portfolio from scratch. This twice-weekly newsletter is how I keep you all updated on my progress.

For me, early retirement means $2M invested. For you, it might mean something else. Regardless of your early-retirement number — I hope these weekly synopses of my portfolio progress + what’s been happening in the markets helps you on your own journey.

👉 Portfolio Updates (YTD Performance):

Despite a strong start to September, we ended last week with some volatility.

This was caused by stronger-than-expected inflation data. Some Fed officials also shared their own thoughts around a continued focused on bringing down inflation (higher for longer interest rates) despite Jerome Powell’s comments.

As a reminder, Jerome Powell is cutting interest rates in efforts to ensure unemployment doesn’t rise dramatically. Inflation will likely heat back up in response to these rate cuts.

Regardless, the stock-only portfolio is up +17.3 year-to-date, led by the “Long Risky” subsection. It’s relieving to see the “Long Technology” subsection is finally out performing the S&P 500, now that we’re 10 months into the year. “Dividend Growth Stocks” continue to offer my portfolio stability during times of volatility.

The monthly income section of my portfolio just paid me $790.36 for the month of September, which comes out to be a 17% annual distribution yield. I’ll be investing all $790.36 into BTCI (as shown below).

👉 Key Earnings Announcements:

Micron’s newly-formed Cloud Memory business accounted for 40% of revenue, Costco’s adj. EBITDA is expected to compound +11% annually through 2028, and Cintas increased their dividend by +15%.

• Micron Technology (MU)

Key Metrics

Revenue: $11.3 billion, an increase of +46% YoY

Operating Income: $3.7 billion, an increase of +200% YoY

Profits: $3.2 billion, an increase of +261% YoY

Earnings Release Callout

“Micron closed out a record-breaking fiscal year with exceptional Q4 performance, underscoring our leadership in technology, products, and operational execution. In fiscal 2025, we achieved all-time highs across our data center business and are entering fiscal 2026 with strong momentum and our most competitive portfolio to date. As the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer, Micron is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the AI opportunity ahead."

My Takeaway

• Costco (COST)

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