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

#1 FRANKS & FIREWORKS: According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans celebrated the Fourth of July by eating roughly 150 million hot dogs. The holiday is—unsurprisingly—the biggest time of year for hot dog makers and sellers, accounting for roughly 38% of all annual sales, worth some $614 million, according to the trade group.

#2 GRIDLOCKED FOR GOOD: For decades, slow and steady U.S. energy demand was balanced by gains in efficiency, allowing aging infrastructure to keep up without major investment. But with a recent surge in demand—driven by factors like data centers and extreme heat—the risk of system failure is rising. Experts warn that the U.S. is unprepared, with the American Society of Civil Engineers downgrading the nation’s energy infrastructure to a D+. Industry veterans say these issues have been visible for years, yet meaningful action has lagged behind, according to an article in The Daily Upside.

#3 OFF THE BUSS: The Buss family has agreed to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a $10 billion valuation to Mark Walter, co-founder of Guggenheim Partners and majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The sale would mark a new record for NBA franchise valuations. According to CNBC, NBA team values have soared since the league finalized its most recent media rights agreement, valued at $77 billion over 11 years.

#4 BUYBACK BONANZA: Stock buybacks have become a primary method of returning capital to shareholders in today’s market. As recently as 2012, share buybacks accounted for only $400 billion in capital returns, compared to roughly $900 billion in dividends. By 2022, dividends and buybacks were roughly equal, each totaling around $1.31 trillion. From Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, some of the market’s largest companies have led the buyback surge: Apple repurchased $107 billion worth of stock, followed by Google with $62 billion, and Nvidia with $47 billion. (Data provided by S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Carbon Finance.)

#5 TEXAS IN FOCUS: BlackRock has unveiled a new exchange-traded fund composed entirely of companies based in Texas, highlighting the state’s rise as an economic powerhouse and a magnet for both domestic and international investment. Known as the iShares Texas Equity ETF, the fund will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker “TEXN.” The Nasdaq recently announced plans to establish a second hub in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

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