Dear Reader,
If you've noticed that tech is slipping…
While commodities are surging…
And geopolitical conflicts are intensifying…
You may already be connecting the dots.
From the skirmish in Ukraine to the conflict with Iran, the world is experiencing chaos and instability in a way we haven’t seen in decades.
According to legendary forecaster and former CNBC co-host JC Parets, “It’s part of a predictable cycle.”
Parets — who famously called the crash of 2008 as well as the exact start of the 2022 bull market — calls it the Chaos Cycle.
We saw this force play out from 1999 to 2011.
And we saw another cycle from 1968 to 1981, a period that also saw intense conflict in the Middle East.
During these periods, growth stocks gradually stall…
While investments tied to real assets can soar 20x… even 30x.
JC recently filmed a short video explaining the cycle — and how he recommends playing it.
Good investing,
Pete Campbell
Publisher, TrendLabs
Can Interactive Brokers Repeat Another Big Year?
Author: Peter Frank. Article Posted: 3/19/2026.
Key Points
- Interactive Brokers enjoyed strong 2025 growth driven by rising client activity, more accounts, and a technology-driven platform.
- Net income climbed 30% as high margins highlight the firm’s ability to convert revenue into profits.
- Growth depends on active markets and interest rates, so earnings remain sensitive to trading volumes and the macro environment.
- Special Report: Elon's "Hidden" Company
Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ: IBKR) had a standout 2025: more customers, more trading and stronger profits. The question for investors now is whether that momentum can continue.
In a highly competitive sector, Interactive Brokers operates as a global online brokerage serving active traders, financial advisors and institutions. Its success rests on two core ideas: keeping trading costs low and offering investors tools typically used by professionals.
Have $500? Invest in Elon's AI Masterplan (Ad)
What if you could claim a stake in what's set to be the biggest IPO ever… starting with just $500?
Everyone is talking about Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO.
Click here to get the details and I'll show you how to claim your stake…That technology-focused model helps explain why the company's financial results have been so strong. In 2025, net income available to common shareholders rose 30% to $984 million, while diluted earnings per share climbed 28% to $2.22. Revenue increased 20% to $6.21 billion. Commission revenue jumped 27% to $2.15 billion as trading activity rose, and net interest income climbed 13% to $3.56 billion.
Because much of the company's system runs automatically, a large share of revenue flows to the bottom line. Interactive Brokers reported a pretax profit margin of 77%, a substantial increase from the prior year and impressive for any bank or brokerage.
The Continuing Rise of Do-It-Yourself Investors
The results reflect a broader shift that has been underway for years: more people managing their own investments via online platforms. Interactive Brokers is seeing growth across several markets, including options, futures and stocks. In the fourth quarter, daily average revenue trades rose 30% year over year.
That momentum continued into this year: the company reported 4.4 million daily average revenue trades in February, a 21% increase. Client assets reached $820 billion, up 40% from a year earlier.
Growth has come not only from existing customers trading more but also from new accounts. Interactive Brokers reported 4.4 million customer accounts at year end, up 32% from a year earlier, and that number climbed to 4.6 million by February.
A Growth Play, Not a Yield Stock
The company does pay a dividend, but income is not the primary reason investors buy the stock. After a four-for-one stock split in June 2025, Interactive Brokers pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.
At recent prices in the mid-$60s, that equates to a yield of roughly 0.5%. That's modest; the main attraction for many investors is the company's growth rather than its payout.
Wall Street generally views the company positively. Its stock is up about 60% over the past year. It has pulled back from a 52-week high of $79.18 in February, but peers in the sector have seen similar moves.
While the company's overall rating is a Moderate Buy, seven of nine firms rate the stock a Buy. The average 12-month price target sits north of $76 per share, with the highest target at $91.
The Risk of Trading on Traders
Despite the strong growth in clients and activity, investors should be aware of several risks.
Market activity is a major driver of the company's results. When markets are active and trading volume rises, Interactive Brokers benefits from higher commissions and increased interest income on customer balances. If markets become quiet and trading volumes fall, commission revenue and related earnings would likely decline.
Competition is another consideration. Large firms such as Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) and Fidelity Investments compete aggressively for accounts, while newer apps like Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) focus on attracting younger investors with engaging design and competitive pricing. Interactive Brokers' low-cost structure, advanced trading technology and global market access are advantages, but the company must continue to improve its platform to stay ahead.
Interest rates matter as well. In 2025, net interest income of $3.56 billion accounted for more than half of total net revenues. If the Federal Reserve cuts rates, that tailwind could fade and slow earnings growth.
Long-term investors need to decide whether they are comfortable with these risks. Interactive Brokers is not a slow, high-dividend financial stock aimed at capital preservation. It is a fast-growing brokerage that benefits when market activity and investor participation increase.
Still, with solid gains in profits, customer accounts and assets, the company appears well positioned for continued growth. While the stock could be volatile if interest rates change or trading activity slows, Interactive Brokers remains one of the clearest ways for investors to gain exposure to the global expansion of online investing.
What a Gold Miner and an Oil Trust Reveal About Today's Market
Author: Jessica Mitacek. Article Posted: 3/20/2026.
Key Points
- As the bull market enters its fourth year, investors are abandoning underperforming tech stocks in favor of energy and materials, which are significantly outperforming the broader S&P 500.
- A weakening U.S. dollar, aggressive tariff policies, and escalating Middle East conflicts are driving a flight to safety, fueling a massive rally in commodities like oil and gold.
- Stocks like Vista Gold and Permian Basin Royalty Trust signal that the commodity run is broad-based, supported by strong profit margins and favorable technical indicators.
- Special Report: Elon's "Hidden" Company
During healthy bull markets, investors typically favor risk-on strategies. High-flying tech stocks tend to outperform while defensive sectors and safe-haven assets are often disregarded.
But in 2026 we're seeing the opposite. Now in its fourth year, the bull market has likely entered the late stages of its cycle. The Magnificent Seven continue to underperform, software stocks are suffering some of their worst losses since the last bear market, and investors are embarking on a flight to safety that has benefited cyclical and defensive investments.
Have $500? Invest in Elon's AI Masterplan (Ad)
What if you could claim a stake in what's set to be the biggest IPO ever… starting with just $500?
Everyone is talking about Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO.
Click here to get the details and I'll show you how to claim your stake…That has produced outsized gains for two sectors: energy and materials. The last time either sector led the S&P 500 was in 2021, when energy topped the index in the lead-up to the last bear market, and in 2022, when energy led throughout the bear market.
Evidence suggests those two sectors may hold onto their market-leading gains this year, illustrated by a gold development company and an oil-and-gas trust that are mirroring the trend.
Macro Factors Continue Rewarding Underappreciated Sectors
Energy leads all S&P 500 sectors with a year-to-date gain of nearly 28%, followed by materials at roughly 10%. The broader market, by contrast, is down more than 3% on the year, with financials trailing at an 11% loss.
Not coincidentally, the U.S. Dollar Index remains down more than 8% since January 2025. The Trump administration's tariff policies have fueled the "sell America" trade, and ongoing uncertainty has resulted in outflows from U.S. equities that have benefited foreign markets.
Additionally, consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, the labor market has weakened, and a geopolitical landscape rife with instability has seen numerous conflicts disrupt global markets from energy to agriculture.
In turn, speculative sectors are suffering while energy and materials—driven by persistent demand—continue to thrive. Two companies in these areas provide clues that the current macro environment may support more of the same.
Vista Gold Suggests the Precious Metal Rally Has Legs
Gold prices received a lift when the United States and Israel began coordinated military operations against Iran on Feb. 28, further propelling the precious metal's price. Even before the latest war in the Middle East began, heightened market volatility, trade uncertainty, and pre-emptive military actions became hallmarks of the Trump administration, benefiting gold prices.
Investors should expect more of the same going forward, as evidenced by Vista Gold (NYSEAMERICAN: VGZ), a lesser-known small-cap gold miner that reported full-year and Q4 2025 results on Friday, March 13.
As a development company, Vista Gold is pre-revenue, so its Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of negative $0.06 wasn't the headline. Rather, the company ended 2025 with no debt.
Vista Gold also finished the year with a strong cash position and nearly $42 million raised to advance the Mt Todd gold project in Australia's Northern Territory—a large, advanced-stage project "with measured and indicated gold resources totaling 9.1 million ounces," according to the company's website.
The biggest takeaway was the company's confidence in progress at Mt Todd. With a projected 30-year mine life, Mt Todd offers significant scale and demonstrated economic viability. A feasibility study last year reported 5.2 million ounces of proven and probable reserves and showed strong economics for developing 15,000 tonnes per day (5.3 million tonnes per year).
The stock— which gained 172% over the past year—exemplifies how the gold industry is more bullish in 2026 than it has been in years. Conditions look favorable for shareholders, with Vista Gold forecasting a 1.7-year after-tax internal rate of return of 44.7%.
Permian Basin Royalty Trust Indicates That Energy's Run Has Just Begun
The outbreak of war in Iran has roiled oil markets, with the fallout being felt from the gas pump to utility bills. That has benefited the oil majors, with ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and Shell (NYSE: SHEL) all recently hitting all-time highs.
Further down the energy spectrum, companies like Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT) show the oil-and-gas rally is broad and potentially in its early innings. Amid speculation that oil prices may reach $200 per barrel, the key story with Permian—similar to Vista Gold—is less about past results and more about future expectations.
Despite the stock climbing 106% over the past year, there is likely more in store for shareholders as its margins remain strong. According to an SEC filing last month, the trust—which holds royalty interests in oil and gas properties in the Permian Basin in West Texas—secured a profit margin of more than 87% on its Texas Royalty Properties.
That Feb. 17 announcement came before the Iran war commenced later that month, meaning PBT's net income is likely to increase from the average price per barrel it saw in February. At the time, the trust cited oil prices of $56.78 per barrel. Today, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. crude benchmark, is trading at $95.48 per barrel.
On Tuesday, March 10, the stock crossed above its 200-day moving average—a bullish long-term indicator that suggests more share appreciation ahead, bolstered by the global oil supply pinch. Fundamentally, Permian Basin is operating in strong financial health, having ranked in TradeSmith's Green Zone for more than nine months.
Taken together, Vista Gold and Permian Basin Royalty Trust illustrate how macro forces are currently favoring materials and energy. If those forces persist, both sectors may continue to outperform the broader market in 2026.
to bring you the latest market-moving news.
This message is a paid advertisement for Trend Labs, a third-party advertiser of TickerReport and MarketBeat.
Contact Us | Unsubscribe
Copyright 2006-2026 MarketBeat Media, LLC dba TickerReport.
345 N Reid Place #620, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57103. USA..
0 Response to "JC Parets: “‘The “Chaos Cycle’ may already be underway…”"
Post a Comment