Friday Fast Five - 1/16/2026
by Hodges Investment Team, on January 16, 2026
Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...
#1 Blue States Are Bleeding Red: Texas returned to being the top state people moved to in 2025 after falling behind South Carolina the prior year, according to moving trends data released by U-Haul. In the rearview mirror are California, followed by Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
#2 Drug Deals: Biopharma dealmakers spent more than $112 billion on acquisitions last year, more than doubling 2024’s total, according to BioPharma Dive.
#3 Your Agentic Co-Worker: While adoption of consumer AI applications like ChatGPT gained tremendous traction in 2025, technology analysts expect the next transition to be enterprise AI adoption in 2026. This represents a progression from board-level conversations and pilot-stage experimentation to real-world business workflows that use AI agents to produce measurable enterprise ROI. Many experts envision employees having as many as 10 agents working in the background on their behalf, completing otherwise laborious tasks.
#4 Grounded: The FCC recently blacklisted future purchases of foreign-made drones and components over national security and spying concerns. This move should create a significant opportunity for U.S. companies and accelerate the reshoring of strategic supply chains. At the center of this policy is DJI, the Chinese company that accounts for more than 90% of global market share. A wide variety of sectors—including construction, energy, agriculture, mining, and local police and fire departments—currently deploy DJI-made drones.
#5 A Bumpy Road: The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose to 205.5, reflecting a 0.4% increase in wholesale used-vehicle prices. While used-vehicle prices appeared to normalize in 2024, tariffs put upward pressure (~2.5% annually) on top of existing vehicle prices in 2025, and consumer spending trends showed signs of slowing in December, further exacerbating affordability concerns. Looking ahead to 2026, there is renewed optimism as new and used auto loan rates have fallen to their lowest level in a year, and consumers will soon see significantly larger tax refunds attributed to the One Big Beautiful Bill legislation.
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