In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Susan Dziubinski previews this week’s PCE numbers and explains why to watch the upcoming earnings reports from Micron Technology, FedEx FDX and Carnival CCL. She sits down with Morningstar senior technology stock analyst Will Kerwin to talk all things Apple, including the strength of the company’s economic moat, its AI strategy, the biggest risks it’s facing today, and what the stock is actually worth. They also discuss the challenges of...
Jun 22, 2026•25 min•Ep. 67
In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss core stocks. These are the types of stocks that should form the foundation that an equity investor can build upon. They unpack the qualities that core stocks share and whether investors should be willing to pay higher valuations for these high-quality stocks. There’s a better strategy for managing your core stock holdings than buy and hold; tune in to find out what the strategy is. They wrap the ...
Jun 15, 2026•17 min•Ep. 66
In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski preview the SpaceX IPO with Morningstar analyst Nic Owens . They discuss the company’s economic moat rating, forecasts for revenue and margins, and why SpaceX is worth less than half its IPO target. They also cover what this week’s inflation reports could mean for the Fed meeting later this month and whether Palo Alto PANW , Crowdstrike CRWD or Broadcom AVGO look attractive after earnings. Tune in to fin...
Jun 08, 2026•52 min•Ep. 65
In this new episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski cover what’s going on with oil prices, interest rates, and bonds today. They recap the stock market’s winners and losers from May and update the barbell stock portfolio strategy for June. Tune in to find out what to look for in this week’s earnings reports from Palo Alto Networks PANW , CrowdStrike CRWD and Broadcom AVGO and whether Nvidia NVDA , Marvell Technology MRVL , or Salesforce CRM look like stoc...
Jun 01, 2026•56 min•Ep. 64
In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Dave Sekera and Morningstar senior equity analyst Dan Romanoff take a deep dive into one of Sekera’s top stock picks: Microsoft MSFT . Microsoft isn’t just a software company; it’s a portfolio of businesses, and Sekera and Romanoff discuss the company’s individual segments. They cover why Microsoft remains a wide moat company in the face of AI disruption and walk through its moat sources. They unpack Morningstar’s forecasts for the com...
May 27, 2026•51 min•Ep. 64
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss why stock investors should learn how to tell the difference between signal and noise when evaluating investments. They review examples of both and cover how, over time, noise can become signal. Tune in to find out what resources investors can use to discern signal from noise, why an SEC-proposed change to company reporting may make it more difficult to tell the difference, and whether artificial inte...
May 18, 2026•32 min•Ep. 63
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski recap last week’s market performance considering new developments in the Iran War. They cover why US investors should watch the Japanese yen, if inflation reports could rattle markets this week, and what to listen for in the upcoming earnings reports from Applied Materials AMAT and Cisco CSCO . Tune in to find out if AMD , Palantir PLTR and ARM ARM look attractive after reporting earnings. They discuss why F...
May 11, 2026•39 min•Ep. 62
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski cover the latest in the war and the market, the GDP print, and the Fed meeting. They update the stock barbell strategy heading into May. Key earnings releases this week include Advanced Micro Devices AMD and Fortinet FTNT; tune in to find out why. They reveal which of the big tech stocks—Alphabet GOOGL, Microsoft MSFT, Meta Platforms META, Amazon.com AMZN and Apple AAPL—look like stocks to buy after earnings...
May 04, 2026•44 min•Ep. 61
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what’s on radar this week after the US stock market hit new highs, including the Fed meeting and inflation numbers. They’ll preview big tech earnings coming out this week from Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft and do a rapid-fire Q&A about what to watch for in the earnings for several other companies including Eli Lilly LLY and UPS UPS. Tune in to find out if Intel, ServiceNo...
Apr 27, 2026•48 min•Ep. 60
In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Susan Dziubinski talks with Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning Christine Benz . They touch on whether investors are a blind to market risk today or if they’re simply thinking long-term. They spend most of their time discussing portfolio construction—specifically, which asset classes to own, what role international stocks can play, and the types of bonds that work best for most investors. Benz shares some...
Apr 23, 2026•45 min
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the latest developments in the Iran war and what investors should be monitoring. The stock market hit new highs last week; the co-hosts cover what drove performance, whether the market still looks undervalued, and if investors are too complacent. They dig into the stunning rally in Intel’s stock this year and its price risk heading into earnings on Thursday. Tune in to find out what companies to keep...
Apr 20, 2026•48 min•Ep. 59
In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host and Morningstar chief US market strategist Dave Sekera and Morningstar chief US economist Preston Caldwell share their new outlooks for the market and the economy. Tune in to find out whether the market is undervalued today, which sectors hold the best opportunities, and what stocks make Morningstar analysts’ top picks list. Sekera also explains why he thinks a value-growth barbell strategy can win in 2026 and how to execute it. Caldwe...
Apr 15, 2026•55 min
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski unpack the stock market’s response to the US-Iran cease fire and discuss how investors should be thinking about their portfolios as uncertainty persists. They preview earnings season and what to watch for in big bank earnings from JPMorgan Chase JPM, Bank of America BAC, and Citigroup C this week. Tune in to find out if Johnson & Johnson, ASML, Taiwan Semiconductor and Netflix are stocks to buy ahead of ...
Apr 13, 2026•44 min•Ep. 58
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the market’s response to new developments in the Iran war. They speculate what the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy may be for the rest of the year and whether this week’s inflation reports will drive more market volatility. They explain why Anthropic’s Mythos model only makes cybersecurity stocks more attractive and whether the worst is behind for Nike. Tune in to find out if Carnival or McCor...
Apr 06, 2026•36 min•Ep. 57
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what economic and earnings reports to keep an eye on during this shortened trading week. Chewy’s stock skyrocketed after earnings last week; tune in to find out if the stock is a buy after the runup. They examine market valuations heading into the second quarter, revealing whether now is the time for investors to increase their exposure to US stocks. They also unpack which investment styles look most...
Mar 30, 2026•37 min•Ep. 56
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the market’s latest response to the ongoing war in Iran and explain what oil futures are telling investors. They unpack what’s going on in fixed income globally and whether the worst is yet to come in the private credit market. Tune in to find out just how big Morningstar’s fair value increase is on Micron after earnings and what drove an upgrade in Nvidia’s fair value, too. Speaking of fair value ch...
Mar 23, 2026•48 min•Ep. 55
Today on The Morning Filter podcastwe’re bringing you a bonus episode from another Morningstar podcast: Investing Insights . Every Friday, host Ivanna Hampton sits down with investment experts across Morningstar to discuss their latest research. On this episode : The stock market has cooled on stocks caught up in the whirlwind of artificial intelligence. Fears over whether AI will disrupt a variety of sectors have triggered big sell-offs. Morningstar equity analysts have investigated 132 compani...
Mar 20, 2026•20 min
In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Dave Sekera talks with Morningstar senior analyst Malik Ahmed Khan about cybersecurity stocks. They discuss which cybersecurity segments are driving the industry’s growth and whether consolidation will play out in the industry. Tune in to find out what key risks the industry is facing today—and why AI isn’t one of them. They unpack what it takes for cybersecurity companies to carve out economic moats and why so many of them earn wide e...
Mar 19, 2026•38 min
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss what the oil futures chain is telling investors today and the impact an extended conflict could have on the consumer, the economy, and Fed policy. They also cover what to watch for from this week’s Fed meeting and why to watch Micron Technology’s earnings. They unpack new research from Morningstar about AI disruption and economic moats and walk through economic moat downgrades on Adobe ADBE, Salesfor...
Mar 16, 2026•47 min•Ep. 54
In this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss the impact the war in Iran has had on the markets so far and how a prolonged conflict could impact inflation and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate stance. They cover what the war means for oil stocks, defense stocks, and other industries. On the earnings front, they unpack results from Okta OKTA and Marvell Technology MRVL and dissect Morningstar’s upgrade on Crowdstrike. Is now a back-up-the-truck...
Mar 09, 2026•43 min•Ep. 53
In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, co-host Susan Dziubinski talks with Morningstar senior analyst Gregg Warren about Berkshire Hathaway now that Warren Buffett has stepped down as CEO. They cover where new CEO Greg Abel might focus his efforts first, how likely it is that Berkshire will make an acquisition in the near future, and why the firm won’t pay a dividend any time soon. They also discuss if Berkshire will offload its big stake in Kraft Heinz, if the firm is likely to se...
Mar 05, 2026•35 min
In this episode of The Morning Filter , co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss which economic and earnings reports to keep an eye on this week. They cover new research about whether Nvidia can continue its winning ways, if Salesforce is a buy after earnings, and what to make of the AMD/Meta Platforms deal. Tune in to find out which stock saw a big cut in its fair value estimate last week and how to think about Diageo DEO after its dividend reduction. They unpack what’s going on in the...
Mar 02, 2026•45 min•Ep. 52
In this episode of The Morning Filter , co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski unpack what the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Trump Administration’s emergency tariffs may mean for markets. They also discuss whether the AI-fueled stock market selloff has gone too far and where the opportunities may lie for investors today. They discuss if Nvidia’s earnings report this week can lead to a recovery in AI-related stocks and if earnings releases from Salesforce CRM or Workday WDAY could lift their s...
Feb 23, 2026•41 min•Ep. 51
In this episode of The Morning Filter , co-hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss whether last week’s software stock selloff was overdone and if the AI trade is dead. They cover why Zimmer Biomet ZBH and Applied Materials AMAT are earnings reports to watch and what this week’s CPI numbers could mean for the market. Tune in to find out if Alphabet GOOGL, Amazon.com AMZN, Advanced Micro Devices AMD, or Palantir PLTR are stocks to buy after earnings—and which stock just received a 78% fair ...
Feb 09, 2026•36 min•Ep. 50
In this bonus episode of The Morning Filter podcast, host Susan Dziubinski talks with Morningstar chief Europe markets strategist Michael Field about international investing. They discuss the market outlook for Europe this year and whether European stocks have any gas left in the tank after outperforming in 2025. Tune in to find out which European countries and sectors look most attractive from a valuation perspective today. They wrap up with three stock picks to buy in 2026 for the long term. 0...
Feb 05, 2026•22 min
In this week’s episode of The Morning Filter podcast, hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski discuss whether investors should or shouldn’t worry about the declining US dollar. They also break down tech’s wild earnings last week: Tune in to find out if Microsoft MSFT, Meta Platforms META, Apple AAPL or ServiceNow NOW are stocks to buy today—and whether Tesla TSLA finally looks attractive after Morningstar’s big fair value upgrade. They share what to watch in the upcoming earnings reports from Alp...
Feb 02, 2026•36 min•Ep. 49
This episode of The Morning Filter marks the podcast’s third anniversary. Hosts Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski reveal how the stock picks from the podcast’s first episode have performed and share which ones are still attractive stocks to buy today. They also discuss an under-discussed risk factor that contributed to market volatility last week. And they welcome special guest (and Fed watcher) Sarah Hansen to preview this week’s Federal Reserve meeting and parse what to watch for from the Fed t...
Jan 26, 2026•41 min•Ep. 48
On this episode of The Morning Filter podcast, Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski preview the December inflation numbers coming out this week and cover which other economic reports to watch. They discuss valuations of the big banks reporting in the next few days—including JP Morgan JPM, Bank of America BAC and Citigroup C—and expectations for earnings. President Trump wants to increase the defense budget; tune in to find out what that may mean for popular defense stocks like Lockheed Martin LMT, N...
Jan 12, 2026•51 min•Ep. 47
On this week’s episode of The Morning Filter podcast, Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski recap volatile 2025 and preview what may lie ahead in 2026. They discuss what to watch this week, including the earnings report from stock pick Constellation Brands STZ. They unpack Morningstar’s recent 50% fair value increase on Micron Technology MU stock, review results from Darden Restaurants DRI and FedEx FDX, and discuss whether Novo Nordisk NVO or Eli Lilly LLY is the better obesity drug stock to buy tod...
Jan 05, 2026•52 min•Ep. 46
On this week’s episode of The Morning Filter podcast, Dave Sekera and Susan Dziubinski take a look back at some of their best and worst stock buy and sell calls of 2025. Although Morningstar’s approach to stock investing is decidedly long term, they discuss why reviewing stock pick hits and misses each year on the podcast is nonetheless important. They end wrap this week’s episode with four undervalued stock picks from 2025 that still look attractive heading into the new year. Episode Highlights...
Dec 22, 2025•55 min•Ep. 45
