By Michael Hooper
I have been an investor in the stock market since 1993. I’ve owned hundreds of different stocks over the years, but I have paired it down to a core holding of about 22 stocks, mutual funds and ETFs. I rarely sell. And I rarely buy new stocks, but if I want to stay relevant, I have to be open to the possibility of new stocks in my portfolio.
To that end, I’ve been adding shares in several companies lately, including Yesway (YSWY). Yesway is a Fort Worth-based convenience store operator with about 450 stores across nine states, mostly in the Midwest and Southwest United States. I’ve been an investor in convenience stores for a long time having great luck with Casey’s General Stores (CASY). I continue to own Casey’s stock, but I think it’s a little overpriced right now. Yesway recently had an IPO at $20 per share, selling 13.9 million shares. Most of the proceeds will be used to pay down debt. I bought shares at an average price of $21.94 per share. Casey’s has about 3000 stores in the Midwest mostly in small towns. Yesway is a much smaller company and has a lot of room to grow. I may add to my YSWY share count in the near future, although the stock has already been moving up and recently closed at $24.23 per share.
Another stock that has become attractive to me is Reddit (RDDT). Reddit is a social media platform that hosts more than 100,000 active communities or subreddits organized around a variety of topics. I missed out on Facebook as an investment, but I think I might have an opportunity in Reddit. The company had $2.5 billion in cash at the end of 2025 and no debt. In fiscal fourth quarter 2025, the company reported earnings topped expectations and revenue rose 70% year-over-year to $726 million in fourth-quarter 2025. Advertising revenue grew 75% year-over-year. In 2025 revenue rose 69% to $2.2 billion. Earnings per share in 2025 were $2.62 per share after the company posted a loss of $3.33 per share in 2024. Reddit will share first quarter earnings on Thursday, April 30, 2026.
Reddit does not require its users to disclose their identities. You see a lot of people bragging about their financial gains in their portfolios under the subreddit r/a race to 1 million, so you don’t know if these people are real or fake. Nevertheless, I enjoy conversations with these other investors on Reddit. The subreddit r/wallstreetbets is the main online community of retail investors who coordinated to buy GameStop (GME). I am an old guy compared to these young investors out there but a shrewd investor will always keep an open mind to new ideas and I find a lot of them on Reddit.
I continue to own Banco Popular (BPOP). I previously wrote about this stock here. The company is the largest bank in Puerto Rico, where the economy has been improving in recent years since the destruction of hurricane Maria in 2017. Banco Popular is the main source for retail banking customers for deposits and loans for things like cars and houses. Earnings at Banco Popular continue to improve at every quarter and yet the stock is relatively cheap with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10 and a trailing P/E of 12.2. Many of its banking peers trade at much higher multiples.
I am fond of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) (BRK/B), which I have owned since 1996. Ever since Warren Buffett announced a year ago that he will no longer be chief executive officer in 2026, the stock has fallen and hasn’t done much. Indeed the stock is down 9.9% from a year ago as of April 29, 2026. The new CEO Greg Abel is expected to address people Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the annual meeting of shareholders in Omaha. First quarter earnings also will come out Saturday, May 2, 2026.
Earlier this year Greg Abel announced that the company was buying back stock in Berkshire Hathaway and at the time the B shares were around $480 per share. So I think if you could buy the stock at or below $480 per share, you probably will do OK, I expect the stock to reach $500 per share again some day. Nevertheless it’s a good hedge against a crisis, every portfolio needs defensive stocks, especially when there’s a war in the Middle East going on and we have a president, Donald Trump, who doesn’t operate with any rational precision, instead, he’s impulsive, angry, full of vengeance and extremely unpredictable.
Well, there you have it folks, some stocks you may want to consider for 2026. Some caution here is warranted. The S&P 500 is near an all-time high, so there is an argument to be said that stocks in general are overvalued. With this war going on against Iran, you may want to just dip in with your toes first into the water before plunging in deep. I’m a big fan of dollar cost averaging. Buy a little stock today and buy a little stock next week or next month but don’t put your entire farm into one stock, diversify to reduce your risk.
Editor's note: Michael Hooper owns stock in YSWY, CASY, RDDT, BPOP and BRK/B.
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