A LOW cost airline has launched its first-ever flight from a regional UK airport with 174 passengers on board.

The airline will provide direct flights from a UK airport to a popular European capital.

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Customers flying on its North American connections can even visit two countries in one trip as stop overs are free in this major city.

It has been announced that for the first time ever, Wales and Iceland will be connected by a direct flight.

Customers on board PLAY Airlines can fly from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Cardiff, Wales, up to twice per week.

This will enable the people of Wales to explore the glorious blue lagoons and Viking history of Iceland.

Or, enable the people of Iceland to explore Wales and its stunning beaches, mountains and castles.

The first-ever flight took off just a day before Wales’ football game in Iceland – with 174 passengers on board.

Customers were treated to Icelandic sweets before take off such as Aurora Borealis cake, candy stripes, and chocolate liquorice.

Plus a water salute from Cardiff Airport firefighters.

Lee Smith, Cardiff Wales Airport’s Head of Business Development, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome PLAY Airlines to Wales today.

“This exciting service allows customers to enjoy direct flights between Wales and Iceland for the first time.

“PLAY’s Icelandic hub in Reykjavík also allows for people in Wales to take advantage of PLAY’s free stopovers in Iceland, before jetting off to five key cities in North America.

“We look forward to working with the team at PLAY to continue growing in Wales.”

Flight costs from Cardiff to Reykjavik in October start from as little as £55, per person for a round trip.

The trip time one way takes about three hours.

And there is still availability to fly out in October.

Customers using PLAY Airlines from Cardiff also have the option of visiting five other major cities abroad.

Such as New York, Washington, Boston and Baltimore in the USA.

Or Toronto in Canada.

Home Several Military Aircrafts

Recent satellite images provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) show that the Adygea airport is now confirmed to be a military installation.

Before the attack, the base was home to several types of aircraft, including the Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35. Interestingly, there were no training aircraft such as the L-39 spotted in the recent imagery. The presence of these aircraft is significant, as they are painted in blue camouflage typically reserved for frontline operations.

The Su-30, an evolution of the iconic Su-27 introduced in the 1980s, is known for its agility and close-range air combat capabilities. It features dual AL-31F engines and can perform complex aerial maneuvers.

The Su-34, developed from the Su-27 platform, boasts a reinforced structure and a two-person cockpit, allowing it to carry a wide array of air-to-ground weapons, including FAB bombs with UMPK modules for precise long-range strikes.

Meanwhile, the Su-35 represents the latest advancement in air superiority fighters, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and more powerful AL-41F1 engines. Its enhanced avionics and advanced radar significantly boost its combat effectiveness.

This year, some notable companies have cut or eliminated their dividends. For example, former stalwarts Walgreens and 3M ended decades-long streaks of dividend growth with deep cuts to their payouts. It’s a situation that can make some investors want to give up altogether on income investing.

However, while some formerly reliable companies have disappointed investors on the dividend front in recent years, others have continued to make their payments no matter what. Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), Oneok (NYSE: OKE), and NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) stand out to a few Fool.com contributors for their dividend stability. Here’s why you should consider adding them to your portfolio.

Enterprise Products Partners is built to pay you well

Reuben Gregg Brewer (Enterprise Products Partners): For 26 consecutive years, midstream energy giant Enterprise Products Partners has increased its distributions. That’s a huge commitment to its unitholders, but there’s more for income investors to like here than just the distribution history. It all starts with its master limited partnership structure, which is designed to pass income on to investors in a tax-advantaged manner. (A portion of the distribution is usually return of capital.) So down to its foundation, Enterprise is about paying its investors well.

Then, factor in its business model. Enterprise owns energy infrastructure like pipelines, storage, refining, and transportation assets that are vital to the energy sector’s operation. However, unlike other segments of the industry, the midstream segment is largely fee driven. Enterprise generates reliable cash flows based on the use of its assets, so the often-volatile prices of oil and natural gas don’t really have that big an impact on its financial results. Demand for energy, which is usually strong even when oil prices are weak, is the key determinant of Enterprise’s success.

Then there’s the fact that Enterprise has an investment-grade rated balance sheet. Moreover, its leverage is normally toward the low end of its peer group, so it is conservative on both an absolute and relative basis. Lastly, the partnership’s distributable cash flow covers its distribution 1.7 times over.

All in all, a lot would have to go wrong before Enterprise Products Partners would need to cut its distribution. It is far more likely that it will continue to grow those disbursements, albeit slowly, as its capital investment plans pan out. But slow and steady distribution growth combined with a huge 7% yield will probably sound like music to most dividend investors’ ears.

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Over a quarter century of growth and stability (and more growth coming down the pipeline)

Matt DiLallo (Oneok): Pipeline giant Oneok has proven its dividend durability over the decades. It has achieved more than a quarter century of dividend stability. While it hasn’t increased its payment every year during that period, it has a strong track record on payout hikes. Since 2013, Oneok has produced peer-leading total dividend growth of more than 150%. That’s impressive, considering that the world experienced two notable periods of oil price volatility during that period.

Oneoke has delivered sustainable earnings growth over the years. Its portfolio of pipelines and related midstream infrastructure generates predictable fees backed by long-term contracts and government-regulated rate structures. Its earnings grow as the volumes flowing through that infrastructure increase due to production growth, organic expansion projects, and acquisitions.

The company has been on an acquisition-fueled expansion binge in recent years. Last year, it bought Magellan Midstream Partners in a transformational $18.8 billion deal that increased its diversification and cash flow. The highly accretive deal will add an average of more than 20% to its free cash flow per share through 2027. That supports management’s view that Oneok will be able to grow its dividend by 3% to 4% annually during that period while also repurchasing shares and reducing its leverage ratio.

Oneok followed that up with a $5.9 billion deal to buy Medallion Midstream and a meaningful interest in EnLink Midstream this August. The transaction will be immediately accretive to its free cash flow and capital allocation strategy. After closing that deal, Oneok plans to buy the rest of EnLink, further boosting its cash flow per share. The company also expects to complete additional organic expansion projects, further enhancing its growth rate.

The midstream giant’s investments will help fuel its dividend growth for the next several years, even if there’s another market downturn. Those features make Oneok a great stock to buy for those seeking reliable dividends.

A steady dividend grower

Neha Chamaria (NextEra Energy): NextEra Energy, which has a yield of 2.6% at its current stock price, has rewarded its shareholders through thick and thin, and management is determined to continue doing so. The utility and clean energy giant has paid regular dividends for decades, but more importantly, increased them steadily over time. Between 2003 and 2023, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of NextEra Energy’s dividend was nearly 10%, backed by a 9% CAGR in its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and an 8% CAGR in operating cash flow during the period.

NextEra Energy operates two businesses — Florida Power & Light Company (the largest electric utility in Florida) and clean energy company NextEra Energy Resources (the world’s largest generator of wind and solar energy). So while its regulated utility business generates stable cash flows, clean energy is where its growth largely comes from.

NextEra Energy expects its adjusted EPS to grow at an annualized rate of 6% to 8% through 2027, and expects annual dividend hikes of around 10% through 2026 as it pumps billions of dollars into both businesses.

More specifically, NextEra Energy plans to spend over $34 billion on Florida Power & Light between 2024 and 2027 and more than $65 billion on renewable energy over the next four years. That’s massive, and if done right, should steadily boost NextEra Energy’s earnings and cash flows to support bigger dividends for years, regardless of how the economy fares.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

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• Amazon: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2010, you’d have $21,022!*

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Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

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Matt DiLallo has positions in 3M, Enterprise Products Partners, and NextEra Energy. Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in 3M. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends NextEra Energy. The Motley Fool recommends 3M, Enterprise Products Partners, and Oneok. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Don’t Give Up on Dividends: 3 Dividend Stocks That Reward You Through Thick and Thin was originally published by The Motley Fool

Nvidia‘s (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock has been an absolutely incredible performer recently. Since the start of 2023, it rose by more than 800%. Most investors would be thrilled to own a stock that delivered returns like that, but not every company has the potential. It requires a massive growth catalyst to justify such gains.

SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) is one company that could have this potential. It’s a key player in one niche of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, and has a massive backlog for its products.

SoundHound’s product is gaining momentum

SoundHound AI’s technology can parse human speech and perform various tasks based on what it hears. Among the ways it’s already being used most are in processing restaurant orders and improving digital assistants in vehicles, but its capabilities extend far beyond those two use cases.

In the automotive segment, SoundHound partnered with Stellantis; the giant automaker will integrate SoundHound’s tech into its vehicles across Europe and Japan. This will give people access to generative AI functions while they’re driving — an improvement from the voice assistants that are available on vehicles today. If SoundHound can win business with other automakers and break into other regions, this segment of its business alone could provide it with a huge amount of growth.

SoundHound also worked with several companies in the restaurant sector to automate telephone and drive-thru orders, which saves restaurants on wages. According to the company, these AI assistants actually outperform humans in terms of order speed and accuracy, so the customer doesn’t feel like the experience declined. Some of SoundHound’s restaurant customers, among them White Castle and Jersey Mike’s, are fairly big, but there’s serious room for it to grow if it can capture some of the largest fast-food businesses.

SoundHound AI could achieve even greater success if its solutions are utilized in new applications.

But is that potential enough to make its stock the next Nvidia?

Nvidia has one key advantage that SoundHound does not

In the second quarter, SoundHound generated $13.5 million in revenue, which was up 54% year over year. That’s quite small compared to other AI businesses.

However, the key figure investors should focus on is SoundHound’s backlog, which totals $723 million. This figure doubled from a year ago, showing that rising demand has outpaced SoundHound’s capability to integrate its product with its customers’ systems.

This is factoring into SoundHound’s current valuation, as Wall Street has high hopes for the company.

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Trading at 23 times sales, SoundHound stock already carries a premium valuation. By contrast, Nvidia traded for around 15 times forward earnings at the start of 2023. That was a dirt-cheap price, and also a far cry from the forward earnings ratio of 47 it trades at today.

SoundHound already has a premium price tag, which detracts from its growth potential from here. But if it can mature into a business that generates $100 million in revenue per quarter, Nvidia-like performance for the stock is still possible.

If SoundHound achieved that and carried a valuation of 20 times sales, it would be worth $8 billion, up 370% from its market cap today. That would be a solid return, but still far less than what Nvidia produced.

SoundHound stock’s premium price tag may prevent it from delivering Nvidia-like returns from here, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a great investment. However, it’s a bit of a long shot considering the niche use cases for its product and the company’s small size. It could make investors some serious money, but don’t expect Nvidia-like returns.

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Keithen Drury has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Stellantis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Could Buying SoundHound AI Now Be Like Buying Nvidia in 2023? was originally published by The Motley Fool

The international break is a period in which club managers hold their breath, and it is safe to say this fortnight has not been kind to Mikel Arteta and Arsenal so far.

Bukayo Saka faces further tests after limping off during England’s defeat to Greece on Thursday, making him a doubt for the match at Finland on Sunday.

The winger could also miss Arsenal’s first game back at Bournemouth on Saturday 19 October, with Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey both likely to undergo further assessments themselves.

Havertz withdrew from Germany’s squad ahead of their double-header against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to a knee problem, while Partey left the Ghana camp due to “medical issues”.

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It could well be that Saka, Havertz and Partey are all fit for Bournemouth, and for Arsenal it could prove beneficial if Saka is ruled out of England’s game in Finland.

After all, the trio have been integral to Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season across all competitions, and more so since losing captain Martin Odegaard to injury at the end of August.

Without Odegaard, Arsenal have won three league games and drawn one, improving their win percentage to 56.5 without him, compared to the 66.4 per cent when the Norwegian starts.

Across his entire Premier League career, though, Arsenal have lost a greater percentage of matches when Odegaard does not start – 30 per cent to 19 per cent – and average fewer goals per match – 2.1 to 1.78 – meaning it is vital the Gunners are not weakened further in attack.

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And while Odegaard’s return date remains unknown, having sustained “significant” ankle ligament damage, Arsenal will continued to rely more heavily on Saka and hope his withdrawal on Thursday was merely precautionary.

Saka is comfortably Arsenal’s main creator this season, leading the way in the Premier League entirely with 12 big chances created – Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is second on eight – and he therefore tops the assist charts with seven to Palmer’s five.

That already puts Saka two assists away from matching last season’s tally of nine, which was one behind Odegaard’s 10, enough to place joint-third in the Premier League overall.

Saka has also had the most touches in the final third of any Arsenal player in six of their seven league matches this season, and while Odegaard was second in two of those matches before he was injured, other players have come in to pick up the slack.

Declan Rice has had more of the ball since Odegaard’s injury, the England international second for touches in the attacking third and total distance of carries in the 4-2 win over Leicester.

Rice also carried the ball further than any outfield teammate against Manchester City, this backs-to-the-wall display typified by the fact Arsenal made just one pass into the penalty area, while no player was in the double digits for touches in the attacking third. By way of comparison, Saka led the way with 23 touches in the 1-1 draw of Brighton.

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Other players have come to the fore in Odegaard’s absence too, including centre-backs Gabriel and William Saliba.

One stat Odegaard ranked in the top two for during his three Premier League matches this season was passes in the final third, and impressively Gabriel topped the rankings in this department with 10 against Leicester, while Saliba was top when playing 13 against Southampton.

Saliba also carried the ball for the furthest distance against the Saints, outlining Arsenal’s relative comfort in possession against lower opposition – despite the fact both promoted clubs gave them a scare.

It has therefore been an admirable team effort to cope without Odegaard, led by the instrumental Saka and aided by a host of players.

That will need to continue for the foreseeable, with the greatest test in the coming month against Liverpool at home on 27 October, a match-up that will tell us where these two sides are at in the bid to end Manchester City’s stranglehold on the title.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Does Starbucks want its own beans, as well as baristas? The chain, which has owned one Costa Rican coffee farm since 2013, is getting more into the growing business, purchasing farms in Guatemala and Costa Rica and investing in other “coffee belt” regions in Africa and Asia.

Vertical integration, especially into raw materials, has enjoyed bouts of popularity for at least a century. Car titan Henry Ford, an early proponent, even owned sheep farms to supply the wool for car seat covers. The baristas, however, are unlikely to serve up a true revival.

Globalisation and free trade unpicked the fashion to weave together suppliers with producers. Failures have been frequent and dismantling is costly and messy. Bowmar, possibly the biggest calculator maker in the world in the industry’s early 1970s heyday, bought into a plant to make its own integrated circuits as prices for its devices fell — and collapsed a year later. Chemicals group DuPont, partially playing white knight, acquired Conoco for its steady supply of feedstock in 1979 but the two parted ways a couple of decades later.

In certain sectors, geopolitics may be creating a modern variant. In chips, the advent of the “fabless” chip company, and the huge cost of semiconductor plants had dented tech’s appetite to own their own supply. But Chinese tech conglomerate Alibaba and its peers began forging into developing advanced chips as US-China tensions prompted a US crackdown on semiconductor exports.

Meanwhile, technical demands are prompting big companies to take design (if not manufacturing) back in-house. Apple began ditching Intel chips in favour of homegrown in 2020. “Integrating hardware and software is fundamental to everything we do,” said boss Tim Cook at the time. The advent of generative AI has prompted Meta and Google to push further into custom silicon, based in the latter’s case on Arm CPUs.

Investor tolerance for vertical integration varies with the times — but this type of control isn’t the Ford-variant of old. The same is true at Starbucks: its farms are small beans for a 38,000-plus store chain which buys some 3 per cent of global coffee supply. The holdings allow Starbucks to experiment, while ticking useful boxes around responsible agriculture and farmer empowerment.

Similarly Ingka Group, the biggest Ikea franchisee, boasts a portfolio of 320,000-plus hectares — think four New York Cities — of forest across seven countries. Again, this is about reforestation, not integration: just 5 per cent or so of harvested wood goes back into Ikea products, and via the open market.

That is for the best. Farming — whether sheep, beans or trees — is a very different business to retailing, whether flat-pack furniture or a caffeine fix.

louise.lucas@ft.com