Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 SOLAR IS HOT: The U.S. Energy Information Association reports that U.S. solar power generation is expected to grow 75% from 163 billion kWh in 2023 to 286 billion kWh in 2025. Solar is the fastest-growing renewable source because of large capacity projects and favorable tax credit policies. Over the next ten years, solar energy is expected to first surpass hydroelectricity as an energy source, then wind, coal, nuclear, and eventually natural gas. In the meantime, natural gas is a solid number one. With the recent below-normal temperatures caused by a large mass of arctic air that covered most of the continental United States, a record high of 141.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas was consumed on January 16, 2024, according to estimates from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

#2 HONEY, I SHRUNK THE SHARES AGAIN: Who will be the biggest buyer of U.S. stocks in 2024? Mutual Funds? Pension Funds? Households? According to Goldman Sachs, the answer is none of the above, as all these investors are forecasted to be net sellers. The biggest buyers will be corporations putting $550 billion in capital to work. Companies do buybacks of their shares for several reasons, including when they want to consolidate ownership, preserve stock prices, boost earnings per share, or determine their stock is a better return on investment than internal projects. Share buybacks have overtaken dividends as a preferred way to return cash to shareholders.

#3 ZERO DAYS: A Zero Day computer virus is a software vulnerability previously unknown to users, developers, or anyone responsible for mitigating it. Antivirus software scans files and compares the activity to a database of known malicious signatures or patterns in code. The limitation of antivirus software is it can only alert for known malware. The term "zero-day" reflects that users and the software developer had zero days to protect from the attack. Often, this is related to a new software release.

#4 BEDSIDE MANNERS: Liberal Arts degrees have been getting a bad rap on college campuses relative to more practical degrees with a clear path to a self-sustaining income. According to college recruiters, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the AMA, education is moving in the opposite direction, suggesting that integrating the Arts and Humanities helps medical students develop important skills, such as those needed for effective teamwork and communication with patients. More exposure to music, theater, literature, poetry, and visual arts may also help address post-COVID shortages in healthcare workers, increasing burnout and, in some cases, retiring early.

#5 CHECK THIS OUT: NCR Voyix Corporation, a leading global provider of digital commerce solutions for the retail, restaurant, and banking industries, has released key findings from its U.S. Digital Commerce Consumer survey exploring how consumer behaviors are changing. Self-checkout lanes continue to gain traction, with 43% percent of consumers expressing a preference for them over traditional checkout. Not surprisingly, 53% of younger shoppers (ages 18 to 44) prefer self-checkout. For retailers, self-checkout addresses high staff turnover and unprecedented levels of shrinkage.

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