The mega-cap indices surged higher for a sixth straight week, and it feels like there is just no stopping this torrid advance. But when it seems like the market will never stop moving in a particular direction, a counter-trend move often kicks in. Indeed, it has to happen eventually.

U.S. stocks are trading near record highs - but despite the strong performance, they are being bested by global emerging stocks. A leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EAFE (EFA), is up 6% year to date, while the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) has gained 17%. The S&P 500 is no slacker, up 6% year to date, but still below the global emerging stocks. With continued worries over the state of the U.S. economy and some talk of stagflation, global stocks, and especially those that pay dividends, are an option for investors. The lagging U.S. markets represent a change from the recent record. Over the past five years, the S&P 500 has advanced 70% compared to a 28% gain in EAFE and a 14% gain in EEM. But the underperformance has given global stocks a valuation advantage, particularly in the area of dividends. Consider that the EAFE dividend yield of 3.35% is roughly 225 basis points higher than the comparable S&P 500 dividend yield. We think global dividend stocks continue to offer opportunity. In our view, investing in international income stocks is one way to increase portfolio diversification while reducing sensitivity to volatile U.S interest rates. That said, investing in overseas stocks carries its own set of risks, including the impact of currency exchange and geopolitical turmoil. But there are also a number of positives in this asset class for U.S. investors, including a wide selection of companies that pay dividends, robust industry diversification, and, as we have mentioned, higher yields and lower valuations. We used the sort function in the Argus screening tool using these criteria: stocks must carry and Argus BUY rating, trading just below their 52-week high, and with a dividend yield. The following is the resultant list and offers diversity in sectors and countries.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with about 70% market share in 2025. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public in Taiwan in 1994 and as an ADR in the US in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious base of customers, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that look to apply its cutting-edge process technologies to their semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 83,000 people.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with about 70% market share in 2025. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public in Taiwan in 1994 and as an ADR in the US in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious base of customers, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that look to apply its cutting-edge process technologies to their semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 83,000 people.