Image source: Getty Images Is it really possible to earn a four-figure passive income each month by drip feeding money into the stock market? The answer is yes. Now, there are no guarantees when it comes to dividends. A company’s business may turn downwards and no longer generate enough cash to pay dividends at the level it once did. But by carefully choosing a diversified portfolio of high-quality dividend shares, I think an investor can realistically aim to generate an average monthly passive income of over £1,000. Calculating the dividend bonanza How much somebody earns in passive income will basically…
Author: user
Image source: Rolls-Royce plc The Rolls-Royce Holdings (LSE: RR.) share price has soared 83.4% so far in 2025 by the time of writing (2 December). That means every £10,000 invested in the shares as the 2025 New Year opened is now worth £18,340. Compared to the 793% the Rolls share price has skyrocketed over five years, that might not sound a lot. But it’s really a cracking annual performance. But with the shares down around 13% from their 52-week high of 1,196p in September, is it time for shareholders to sell and pocket their profits? Or maybe buy more? Tricky…
Time in the market is better than timing the market, the adage says. Likewise, to see “quality” shares outperform over time, investors must be patient. Quality stocks are defined as stocks of companies with high returns on equity, stable earnings, and low debt. They’re known among investors for outperforming broader markets over the long run, as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1: Stock market performance (31 December 1998-30 September 2025). Over the long term, quality shares have significantly outperformed the broader stock market. Source: CCLA, Bloomberg, MSCI (returns net of withholding tax, in local currency). The above data is not…
Image source: Getty Images Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has been one of the most lucrative stock market investments in history. You don’t need me to repeat the amazing quadruple-digit returns the AI chip giant has delivered over the past five years. However, as I write, the Nvidia share price has dipped nearly 10% in just three weeks. Worries are building about the future growth trajectory of the company, particularly from those who believe we’re currently in an AI bubble. Recent news that Meta intends to spend billions on custom AI chips from Alphabet‘s Google has also rattled some investors. Google’s chips (TPUs)…
Image source: Getty Images Diageo (LSE:DGE) shares responded positively to the appointment of Dave Lewis. But I think investors should start making plans for a dividend cut. When Lewis took over at Tesco in 2014, the firm suspended its dividend and it didn’t return until 2018. And while the situation at Diageo is different, there are clear challenges. Diageo’s difficulties Diageo’s main issue has been weak demand for its product. Cutting the dividend won’t affect this directly, but it could limit the effect on the company’s balance sheet. The firm finished its 2025 financial year with a leverage ratio of…
Image source: Getty Images The stock market can provide ordinary individuals with the kind of opportunities they can’t get anywhere else. Over the long term, returns from equities have eclipsed cash and bonds. The ability to stay the course even when it looks like things are going wrong is non-negotiable. But for those who can do this, the stock market is worth checking out. Returns Over the last 20 years, the UK’s FTSE 100 has generated an average annual return for investors of around 6.5%. And the S&P 500 – the US index – has returned around 9.8% a year.…
Image source: easyJet plc There has been a fair amount of good news for the airline industry this year. That has made scant difference to easyJet though. The easyJet share price has fallen 12% so far in 2025, during a period when the broader FTSE 100 index (of which it forms part) has risen by 18%. That is not necessarily reflective of an industry-wide trend. BA parent International Consolidated Airlines Group is up 29% this year. That said, the easyJet share price has not done as badly as rival Wizz. Its share price has fallen 19% so far this year.…
Image source: Getty Images Dividends aren’t guaranteed, so it’s critical to build a diversified portfolio when buying income shares. For many investors, this means buying around 10 to 20 shares, which spreads risk across sectors and reduces the impact if one or two companies cut payouts. That said, I think a smaller selection could also deliver a large and dependable dividend income over time. Take the following mini-portfolio of dividend stocks: Dividend stockSectorForward dividend yieldHenderson Far East IncomeInvestment trusts10.5%iShares World Equity High Income ETFExchange-traded funds (ETFs)9.6%Chelverton UK Dividend TrustInvestment trusts8.3%M&GFinancial services7.6%Primary Health Properties (LSE:PHP)Real estate investment trust (REITs)7.3%Invesco US High…
Image source: Vodafone Group plc At the start of this year, the tea leaves were not necessarily positive for the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies. The economy was fragile, with limited growth prospects. Geopolitical risks weighed on the economic outlook. Fast-forward to now. The FTSE 100 is up by 18% since the start of the year. Along the way it has repeatedly set new all-time highs. Can the good times keep rolling? Glass half full – or half empty? Funnily enough, the answer to that question is similar to what it would have been 12 months ago. Globally,…
Image source: Getty Images The Barclays (LSE: BARC) share price is a work of wonder. It’s up 200% over five years and 80% in the last 12 months. Right now it seems unstoppable, jumping another 7% in the week after the Budget spared the big FTSE 100 banks a new windfall tax on profits. How long can the excitement last? Given the mighty rally investors might expect Barclays shares to be overpriced, but the price-to-earnings ratio is a modest 11.9, comfortably below today’s FTSE 100 average of around 17. True, it was only at six or seven just a couple…