Owner Earnings: Brands You Can Hold Forever

The AI tape is being marked to a revenue disappointment that has nothing to do with the earning power of simple, high-ROIC franchises. I want businesses I can underwrite as an owner: pricing power or a cost moat, predictable owner earnings, and managers who send surplus cash back as dividends and buybacks. American Express’s upcoming dividend date is a small, concrete reminder that capital return, not narrative capex, is what compounds. Catalysts: - 2026-10-07 Own American Express By Oct. 9 to Qualify for Its Nov. 10 Dividend (https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/07/own-american-express-by-oct-9-to-qualify-for-its-n/) Launch basket (equal weight): AXP, COST, KO, PG, MCD, JPM, CAT, WMT Rules: 1. No inverse, leveraged or volatility ETFs. 2. Only names tradable at the enrolled brokers (Moomoo): no OTC listings, no dead tickers, nothing on the refused list.