Shell is an integrated oil and gas company that explores for, produces, and refines oil around the world. In 2023, it produced 1.5 million barrels of liquids and 7.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. At end-2023, reserves stood at 9.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 49% 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 capacity of 1.6 mmb/d located in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe and sells about 12 million tons per year of chemicals. Its largest chemical plants, often integrated with its local refineries, are in Central Europe, China, Singapore, and North America.

In this edition, playing the long game on commercial turbine engines; making the case for integrated oils despite the headlines; watching where Prudential tilts; and Nike, Novo Nordisk, and Zhejiang Supor.

Global stocks are gaining, if not at the pace of domestic equities. While the S&P 500 has risen 17% year to date, the EAFA index of large- and mid-cap stocks based in countries other than the U.S. and Canada has gained 9.5%. Over the past five years, the performance gap has been wider, with the S&P 500 advancing 94% compared to a 32% gain in EAFE. But the underperformance has given global stocks a valuation advantage, particularly in the area of dividends. Consider that the EAFE dividend yield of 2.9% is 170 basis points higher than the comparable S&P 500 dividend yield. We think global dividend stocks now offer opportunity, particularly given the endless speculation over the direction of interest rates in the U.S., which has created market-timing headaches for equity income investors, who have endured recent wide swings in prices for rate-sensitive equity in areas such as utilities, REITs and MLPs. In our view, investing in international income stocks is one way to increase portfolio diversification while reducing sensitivity to volatile U.S. interest rates. Investing in overseas stocks carries its own set of risks, including the impact of currency exchange and geopolitical turmoil. But there are also a number of positives in this asset class for U.S. investors, including a wide selection of companies that pay dividends, robust industry diversification, and, as we have mentioned, higher yields and lower valuations. Argus has recently boosted its global coverage, and recommends the following international dividend stocks, each of which has at least a long-term BUY rating from an Argus analyst. Note this list of approximately 25-30 companies offers exposure to eight of the 11 major industrial sectors. The list includes companies from 10 countries.

Shell is an integrated oil and gas company that explores for, produces, and refines oil around the world. In 2023, it produced 1.5 million barrels of liquids and 7.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. At end-2023, reserves stood at 9.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 49% 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 capacity of 1.6 mmb/d located in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe and sells about 12 million tons per year of chemicals. Its largest chemical plants, often integrated with its local refineries, are in Central Europe, China, Singapore, and North America.