Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR) shares are the gift that keeps giving. And giving. When will they stop?

Rolls-Royce shares have soared over 100% over the last year. Over three years, they’re up a blockbuster 619%. The aircraft engine maker is one of the most explosive FTSE 100 recovery stocks I can remember.

This will delight investors, of course, but torment those who decided the excitement had gone as far as it could, and they couldn’t risk buying the shares.

Today, the Rolls-Royce share price is rocketing for two reasons. First, last week saw yet another set of expectation-smashing results, published on 27 February.

Second, the reaction to Donald Trump’s treatment of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday (28 February).

No FTSE 100 stock can beat this one right now

European leaders spent the weekend hammering out how much they’d have to spend to stand up to Russian leader Vladimir Putin without US support. We don’t have the exact figure yet, but it’s going to be a lot, and defence stocks flew this morning led by BAE Systems. That’s up around 14% while Rolls-Royce jumped 6%.

If a Johnny-come-lately investor had finally decided to buy Rolls-Royce shares just one week ago, they’d be thrilled. They’d also be kicking themselves, having realised how much fun it can be to hold this stock right now.

If they’d tucked away £10,000, they’d looking at a tidy £12,170, after the shares jumped 21.7% in a week.That’s a remarkable £2,170 gain in just five trading days

Last Thursday’s results included a substantial upgrade to profit forecasts, as CEO Tufan Erginbilgic engineered a 57% jump in underlying operating profit to £2.5bn in full-year 2024. 

This led the company to reinstate shareholder dividends and announce a £1bn share buyback. The Rolls-Royce share price jumped 15% on the day.

The remainder of this week’s gain came this morning amid reports that European leaders have discussed upping the NATO defence spending target to 3% of GDP. 

Rolls-Royce isn’t cheap. The shares currently trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 37. That’s more than double the FTSE 100 average of around 15 times, but of course, they’ve delivered a lot more excitement.

Growth, dividends and a buyback

Last time I looked they were trading at around 45 times earnings, so last week’s upgrade has brought the P/E down.

As with any stocks, there are risks as well as threats. If Trump somehow manages to strike a peace deal with Putin, recent gains could quickly reverse. So could the order book, if European governments then start backsliding on their defence commitments.

Even the very hint of a deal could trigger a dip in Rolls-Royce shares.

Rolls-Royce appears to have a big opportunity in its small modular nuclear reactors, or ‘mini-nukes’. They open the prospect of an exciting new revenue stream but remain at the mercy of government procurement decisions. Investors could quickly cool if mini-nukes don’t make headway.

It’s hard for UK-focused investors to ignore Rolls-Royce now. They should tread carefully, as we might see a spot of profit taking. Some may wait for a dip before considering the stock. Although given today’s mood, there’s no guarantee we’ll get one.

Barclays (LSE: BARC) shares are living the dream right now. After a blistering 2024, they’ve started the new year in style.

It’s been quite a turnaround, after years when FTSE 100 banking stocks were a bit of a nightmare. While they looked cheap, investors needed bags of patience while they waited for the shares to spring back into life. Spring suddenly arrived last February.

The Barclays share price is up 85% in the last year. While it was a good year for the FTSE 100 generally, the index rose a relatively modest 17%. 

Barclays’ outperformance underlines the potential advantages of buying individual stocks over tracking indexes. It helps to pick the right stocks, though.

Can this FTSE 100 bank keep smashing it?

If someone had decided Barclays still had room to grow after last year and invested £20,000 at the start of 2025, they’d be sitting pretty today.

The shares are up 16.85% year to date, which would have increased that £20k to £23,370. Pretty impressive in such a short space of time, if you ask me.

However, nobody should judge the performance of any stock over such a short timeframe. The real advantages of investing are seen over years and decades, as share price growth and reinvested dividends compound and grow over time.

So can Barclays maintain its momentum?

On 13 February, it reported a pretty handy 24% rise in 2024 pre-tax profit to £8.1bn, slightly beating expectations. This allowed Barclays to announce generous shareholder rewards, including a £1bn share buyback programme.

Bizarrely, the shares fell 6% on the day, as investors bemoaned a lack of profit upgrades. What a bunch!

Barclays’ investment banking division has been a significant contributor to profitability, with total income climbing 7% to £11.8bn. The decision to hang onto that after the financial crisis now looks justified.

Analyst sentiment remains positive, but hardly ecstatic. The 17 analysts offering one-year share price forecasts have produced a median target of just over 347p. If correct, that’s an increase of around 11.5% from today. 

While this suggests continued growth, it’s a more modest outlook compared to recent performance.

Recent stellar share price growth has impacted the dividend. The trailing yield is now a modest 2.7%, with forecasts suggesting a rise to 3% this year. 

However, this dividend is expected to be covered 4.6 times by earnings, giving scope for further largesse. And Barclays looks set to deliver.

Shareholder rewards in the pipeline

The board plans to return at least £10bn to shareholders between 2024 and 2026, through dividends and share buybacks, with a continued preference for the latter. 

Despite these positive indicators, potential investors should be mindful of several risks. A slowing UK and global economy could dampen loan demand and increase default rates. Trade tensions could impact Barclays’ international operations, while interest rate cuts may compress net interest margins, affecting profitability. 

Stock market volatility could benefit Barclays’ trading operations, but it also introduces unpredictability.

Despite its strong performance, Barclays’ stock still appears nicely valued. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stands at just 8.65, and the price-to-book (P/B) ratio is just 0.6. 

This suggests it does have further scope for recovery. Barclays shares are well worth considering, in my view. Although at some point, they have to calm down a little.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock lost more than a quarter of its value last month. This brings the decline since 17 December to 39%.

Of course, long-term shareholders are used to this — Tesla and volatility go together like lightning and thunder! And the stock is still up 525% over five years.

However, things do appear to be changing with the Tesla story, and not in a good way.

A perfect contradiction

On 2 January, I made two market predictions for 2025. The first was that the FTSE 100 would rise for a fifth straight year. So far it’s up 8.4%, so appears to be on course for that (though there’s plenty of time for that to unravel!). The second was that Tesla stock would crash 40% — it’s down 27% so far.

Until recently, the Tesla share price was surging skywards because Elon Musk had backed the successful election campaign of Donald Trump. The assumption was that the incoming administration would streamline regulations on autonomous vehicles (AVs), helping Tesla’s plans for a robotaxi network. Trump also pledged to prevent Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) from flooding the US market.

However, I wrote that “well before [AVs] hit the road though, a Trump administration is also likely get rid of the $7,500 in tax credits that US consumers receive when they buy an eligible EV. And this will surely hurt demand for EVs“.

Trump has repeatedly downplayed climate change and opposes EV subsidies, which seems to perfectly contradict Tesla’s green energy mission.

Moreover, the firm’s customer base is composed of many environmentally conscious individuals who are unlikely to align with Trump. So I can’t see how Musk’s polarising political views are good for car sales. Given this, I found it bizarre that Tesla stock surged almost 100% following the US election.

Issues weighing on Tesla

Now, it’s hard to precisely quantify the brand damage done to Tesla. Some of it might be exaggerated for political purposes in the media. But in January, Tesla’s European sales plunged 45% year on year, while the overall EV market in Europe rose 37%.

Undoubtedly, the company’s facing intense competition from China’s BYD. Speaking of which, China remains a crucial growth market for Tesla. But if Musk’s support for Trump becomes entangled with escalating US-China tensions, the US firm could face regulatory hurdles or consumer boycotts in the world’s second-largest economy. 

Not for me

Short selling is where investors bet against a stock by borrowing and selling it, hoping to buy it back later at a lower price. However, it can be very risky because the stock might surge, leaving investors with huge losses. This is why I wouldn’t ever short Tesla stock, despite it still appearing overvalued on a forward-looking price-to-earnings ratio of 99.

It would only take one bullish tweet from Musk around robotaxis to send the share price soaring 20%. For example, he could confirm that the company has received a licence to operate them in a particular state.

I remain fascinated with the long-term potential of Tesla’s Optimus robots, as that could be a truly massive market. However, with many technological challenges remaining, it appears to be one for the 2030s.

As things stand, I can’t justify investing in the stock at today’s valuation.

In an uncertain economic environment, a second income is an extremely valuable asset. And UK savers with their money in cash ISAs might be surprised at what they could achieve.

There are no guarantees, but a £20,000 investment in UK shares today could generate £14,900 per year in passive income by 2055. That sounds like a lot, but I think it’s highly plausible.

Dividend stocks

The stock market lets investors buy shares in some of the biggest and best businesses around. These include the likes of Diageo (LSE:DGE), Lloyds Banking Group, and Tesco. 

Some companies – including these ones – distribute part of their profits to shareholders. And in the best cases, they return more and more cash as they continue to grow and get bigger.

In the commercial world, things can – and do – go wrong, which means that dividends are never guaranteed. Most importantly, they depend on the business continuing to make money. 

Investors therefore need to be ok with ups and downs. But over the long term, I think owning shares in quality companies is likely to generate a better return than keeping money in cash.

Diageo

Diageo — a stock I’ve been buying recently and remain interested in — is a good example. It’s a spirits company that makes some of the most popular gins, vodkas, and whiskies in the world. And this makes it hard to compete with. 

The business has been facing some challenges lately, including the threat of tariffs from the US, which is its largest market. As a result, 2024’s earnings weren’t as high as expected.

How serious this threat will be and how long it will last is uncertain. This – along with the general outlook for the business – is something investors need to consider. 

Despite the recent issues, the company still increased its dividend per share. And it has a very good record of having done this over a long time, in a variety of different economic conditions. 

From £20,000 to £14,900 per year

Turning £20,000 in cash into something that can generate £14,900 per year by 2055 requires an average annual return of 8%. That sounds like a lot, but I don’t think it’s unrealistic.

Using Diageo as an example, the current dividend yield is 3.75%. That’s short of the required rate, but despite a difficult 2024, the firm managed to increase its distribution by 5%.

If the firm can keep doing this over the next 30 years, the average return per year will be just over 8%. And reinvesting dividends at that rate is enough to reach the required level. 

The key is time. A company’s ability to keep increasing dividends for decades – rather than years – is what can really generate big returns for investors.

Cash is king?

The biggest risk with investing is having to sell stocks at the wrong time. And the best way to avoid this is to have enough cash to handle everyday expenses and extraordinary emergencies.

Keeping enough cash in reserve is therefore a non-negotiable pre-requisite when it comes to investing. So in this regard, cash is absolutely king.

Over the long term, though, I think shares in quality businesses are likely to provide a better return than cash. And this is where I think investors should look for income opportunities.

There’s less than a month to go until the next Individual Savings Account (ISA) deadline. If you’re like me, you may be building a list of shares, trusts and funds to buy before this tax year’s £20,000 annual allowance expires.

Investors don’t actually need to buy any assets to utilise their allowance. Just parking money into a Stocks and Shares ISA is enough to enjoy their tax benefits. But if the right opportunity arises, it can make sense to strike while the iron’s hot.

Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

I have money in my own ISA I’m soon looking to invest. More specifically, I have my eyes on increasing my stake in this high-returning exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A booming market

ETFs allow investors to spread risk without necessarily sacrificing large returns. In fact, these financial instruments provide a simple way to diversify without the costs of buying a multitude of different shares.

Given these advantages, it’s no surprise that the ETF market has exploded in the last decade, and is tipped for further growth in 2025. Investment bank State Street says that a record $1.9trn flowed into global ETFs last year, pushing total assets to $14.7trn.

For 2025, it’s predicting total assets in European funds to rise another 25%, to above $2.8trn. And it thinks the proportion of retail investors owning them will jump to between 30-35%, up from 20-25% today.

Huge returns

UK investors are spoilt for choice, with more than 1,700 ETFs currently listed in London. One I think is worth serious consideration today is the iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector ETF (LSE:IUIT).

As you may expect, this fund provides substantial exposure to the grouping of high-growth of ‘Magnificent Seven’ tech stocks. More specifically, 57.4% of its capital is tied up in Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia shares.

This spread has underpinned the whopping gains it’s delivered to shareholders. Since its inception in November 2015, it’s risen an impressive 540.2% in value.

An intelligent approach

When it comes to investing in technology, I think taking a diversified approach like this is worth serious consideration. And news of Skype’s demise over the weekend reminded me why. What was once the video conference market’s dominant player, Skype had more than 300m customers. Today, its user base is around 10% of that number, and so Microsoft plans to wind down the service in May.

The fast-moving nature of tech development means today’s sector king can end up the industry’s big loser. By owning a large basket of shares — in total, the above iShares ETF has holdings in 69 different tech businesses — investors can substantially reduce this danger.

There are still risks, of course. Cyclical ETFs like this can underperform during economic downturns. Its constituents also face mounting competition from Chinese businesses. But on balance, I’m confident it can continue delivering stunning long-term returns.

The BAE Systems (LSE: BA.) share price rocketed 17% higher today (3 March) to reach 1,642p. The whole European defence sector is surging, including Rolls-Royce stock, which rose 6% and neared 800p!

BAE is now up 30% in 2025, ranking it among the FTSE 100‘s best-performing shares year to date. Here’s why it’s flying higher.

Paradigm shift

On 28 February, President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House to discuss a minerals deal and an end to the war with Russia. To say it didn’t go well would be an understatement. 

Following this, Trump supporter Elon Musk even publicly expressed support for US withdrawal from NATO. Needless to say, all this has profound ramifications for European security.

At the Ukraine defence summit hosted by Keir Starmer over the weekend, NATO and European leaders agreed to bolster defence support for Ukraine and emphasised the urgent need for Europe to rearm. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explicitly stated that budgetary rules could be adapted to make that happen.

Meanwhile, a Reuters report says that the incoming German government is considering a defence fund. This is quite the turnaround. Famously under von der Leyen’s tenure as Germany’s Defence Minister, reports emerged of German soldiers using broomsticks instead of machine guns during NATO exercises due to severe equipment shortages.

BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn recently called this a “paradigm shift“. I don’t see that comment as exaggerated.

For European defence firms like BAE, tens of billions of pounds and euros worth of contracts will likely be up for grabs.

Solid growth

Last year, the company reported sales of £28.3bn, with the order backlog growing 11% to a record £77.8bn. For 2025, it expects sales to increase by 7%-9% and underlying earnings per share to rise 8%-10%.

But that guidance was before last week’s events. Investors are probably expecting a double-digit rise in revenue and earnings now.

As for the dividend, that was hiked 10% last year, and analysts expect a 9% increase this year, then 10% in 2026. While no dividend is guaranteed, the prospective payouts are covered more than twice by forecast earnings.

However, following the strong share price rally, the forward yield is only around 2.2%.

What could go wrong?

While Europe is facing up to the reality of rearming, the US is looking to cut its military budget. So that could be a risk to BAE’s order growth, especially as America is currently its largest market.

Also, Saudi Arabia is a major buyer of BAE equipment (such as Typhoon fighter jets). However, it has strengthened defence ties with China and Russia. If Saudi Arabia shifts away from Western suppliers, BAE’s revenue from the region could decline.

Should I buy the shares?

We all want peace in Ukraine. But sadly, that won’t change the reality that the US-led international rules-based order — built on international law and multilateral institutions following World War II — appears to be collapsing. Two immediate consequences of this are rising instability and higher military spending.

I invested in BAE stock in 2022 at 819p, then again at 1,158p just before Christmas. But it’s now trading at around 24 times earnings, which I think is quite high. Therefore, I’ll wait for dips before I consider buying more shares.

At first sight, Bunzl (LSE:BNZL) shares look overvalued – the stock trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22 and earnings per share are falling. But a closer look reveals a different picture. 

I think the FTSE 100 distributor is in better shape than its headline numbers suggest. And when this kind of thing happens, I like to take a closer look to see if there’s an opportunity.

Falling earnings

Let’s start with the falling earnings. Bunzl’s reported earnings per share went from 157.1p in 2023 to 149.6p in 2025, but investors should take a closer look at what’s going on here. 

The FTSE 100 company sold off its Argentina business last year, which resulted in currency translation losses. But these are likely to be one-off and therefore a temporary setback.

Leaving this aside, EPS grew slightly. And adjusting for fluctuations in foreign exchange rates (which should normalise over time) they were up 5.5%.

On this basis, EPS came in at 194.3p. That implies a P/E multiple of around 16 – with the potential for significant growth to come. 

Growth

In terms of growth, Bunzl has a positive outlook for 2025. This is set to come from both growth in its existing businesses as well as the acquisition of new ones. 

Over the long term, relying on acquisitions to drive growth can be a risky strategy. There’s always a danger of overpaying for a business and this can destroy value for shareholders.

Bunzl claims to have a promising pipeline for the year ahead, but this doesn’t eliminate the risk. And as the company grows, it becomes more difficult to find big enough opportunities.

Investors might, however, think the firm doesn’t have to grow indefinitely for the stock to be a good investment. Its outstanding record of shareholder returns could reduce the overall risk.

Shareholder returns

Bunzl has grown its dividend each year for the last 32 years. And these are not token increases – in 2024, the distribution was 8.4% higher than the year before. 

Based on the current share price, that’s only a 2.3% yield. But investors stand to get just under another 2% return in 2025 through a £200m share buyback, which is currently in progress. 

More generally, Bunzl has an ongoing policy of deploying £700m per year. If this can’t be used for growth opportunities, it’s to be returned to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

This is around 6.5% of the firm’s current market value and it’s being funded by the cash the company generates, not by taking on debt. That’s something for investors to think about.

Undervalued?

A lot of the time, the best opportunities come from seeing something other investors are missing. And this might be the case with Bunzl shares at the moment. 

I suspect a P/E ratio of 22 means a lot of investors aren’t going to take much notice. But I think the stock is good value and I’m keeping it on my list of stocks under consideration.

After Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) reinstated the dividend in 2021, it started to attract investors looking for passive income. With a current dividend yield of 4.34%, Lloyds shares have remained popular over the past few years. If an investor had bought the stock for this purpose, here’s the return they would have achieved.

Running through the numbers

If an investor had put £2k in Lloyds stock at the beginning of March 2023, they would have been able to become shareholders ahead of the ex-dividend date in April 2023. The first dividend, 1.6p per share, would have been received in May. Since then, three other dividends would have been paid out, with the next one due in May.

Based on historical charts, an investor would have likely received a purchase price of 51.6p at open on 3 March. This means that 3,875 shares would have been bought, with some small change left over. The total dividends paid in the two years amount to 5.42p per share. This means £210.03 would have been paid out in the form of passive income. I’ve assumed that the dividends were spent when received instead of being reinvested.

Aside from just the income received, it’s important to note the unrealised gain or loss from the share price movements over this period. It currently trades at 72.3p, translating to a 39% gain! Of course, this isn’t a profit until the investment is sold. But it’s certainly a healthy number that contributes to the overall picture.

The picture going forward

The bank has been able to boost dividend payments over the past two years as it has benefitted from the rise in interest rates. Not only the rise, but the subsequent delay in interest rates falling again has provided an unexpected boost. The longer the base rate stays high, the longer the bank can enjoy a high net interest margin. This means Lloyds can make a larger margin between the rate it charges on loans and what it has to pay out on deposits.

The high cash flow this has provided has been a factor in the dividend payments increasing. Looking forward, the picture is less certain. However, with a dividend cover of 2.2, it’s clear that earnings are more than covering the dividend payments right now (anything above 1 is a good sign).

The main risk I see is if the UK economy falls into a recession later this year. Not only could interest rates be slashed, but loan defaults could increase, and transaction spending could dry up. This could negatively influence the management team’s ability to keep dividend payments growing.

Overall, an investment two years back from an income investor would have done well. Not only has the dividend grown during this period, but share price appreciation has also provided a double whammy. I feel new investors can still consider this as a dividend option going forward.

In early trading today (3 March), the Helium One Global (LSE:HE1) share price was up 20%. At one point it was over 30% higher.

The impressive rise came after the mining exploration company announced that it had received an offer of a licence for its flagship project in Tanzania. And to further please shareholders, it also gave a positive update on drilling at its 50:50 joint venture in Colorado, USA.

An encouraging development

According to the first stock exchange announcement, the government in Tanzania has issued an “offer letter” for a mining licence at the southern Rukwa Helium Project.

The terms are currently being reviewed by the company. Positively, the proposed licence is for the full area applied for. The company says this gives it the “best opportunity to fully leverage the helium potential”.

Of course, the terms of the letter might not be acceptable to the company. But I suspect its directors wouldn’t have issued a press release without them being comfortable with the proposed terms.

And that’s not all…

Meanwhile, over 9,000 miles away, development drilling has started at a project in which it has a 50% “working interest”. The project is managed by Blue Star Helium, which is listed on the Australian stock exchange. Curiously, its share price didn’t change after investors digested the news.

The Jackson-31 well at the Galactica-Pegasus helium development was drilled to a depth of nearly 369m and gas flowed freely at this level. Pending receipt of the test results, Lorna Blaisse, Helium One’s boss, said it was “a very positive start indeed” as “we advance towards helium production”.

Blue Star’s chief executive, Trent Spry, described it as a “fantastic start” and commented that it “validates our geological model”. He went on to say that it “significantly de-risks the project”.

This all sounds very positive to me. And naturally, this makes me want to take a stake, right?

Er, no.

Let me explain.

Pros and cons

Due to its special properties, demand for helium is growing. And this additional need can only be met by getting more of the gas out of the ground.

And encouragingly, although there’s no spot price, experts believe it currently has a value over 100 times higher than natural gas.

But there’s a long way to go before either of the two projects is fully commercialised. And for this to happen, more money is needed. For example, Helium One’s directors estimate that $75m-$100m is required for Tanzania.

This can only come from debt providers, industry partners or shareholders (or a combination of all three). Once the African licence is finalised, this’ll make the fundraising process easier.

However, in my opinion, pursuing all of these options is likely to lead to dilution for existing shareholders. Remember, the company now has nearly 12 times more shares in issue than when it first listed. This is not a criticism, just an acknowledgement that a pre-revenue mining company’s going to have to repeatedly ask shareholders for money.

That’s why I don’t want to invest now. It’s too risky for me. But I’ll revisit the investment case when it becomes clearer how much cash is needed, where it’s going to come from and what it means for shareholders.   

Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) enjoyed a great February. In fact, the Lloyds share price was one of the best-performing stocks in the entire FTSE 100, gaining 18.5%. Typically, with a move of this size in the space of just a few weeks, several reasons likely contributed. Here’s what happened and what it means for investors considering buying now.

Good 2024 results

A key factor was the release of the full-year results for 2024. Even though net income fell by 5% versus the prior year, pushing the statutory profit before tax down by 19%, investors positively took the overall report. To some extent, a fall in net interest income was to be expected, given the cuts made to the base interest rate during the calendar year.

Good progress was made on non-financial metrics, such as a 6% increase in the number of digitally active users, which now stands at 22.7m. This is good, as it’s a more efficient way for customers to operate and also cuts down on employee costs. The loan book grew by 3%, with the deposit book up by 2%. This shows that clients are active and engaging with the bank. It shows a healthy balance, as if loans were up significantly but deposits were falling, this would be a red flag.

Dividend prospects

Another reason for the pop in the stock was confirmation of an increased dividend payout and new share buyback programme. This signals confidence in future earnings and returns more capital to shareholders. Investors typically react positively to increased capital returns, and this scenario is no different.

Regarding the dividend, the 2024 total contributions (made up of two payments, 1.06p and 2.11p) was 3.17p. This contrasts with the total figure of 2p from 2021. The steady increase over the past few years makes it an attractive option for income investors. Given the updated news from February, I expect some of the share price increase came from dividend hunters buying.

Surprise UK data

Finally, the stock did well due to the broader UK economic outlook. Lloyds is a bellwether for the UK, given the large retail client base. Therefore, when GDP data showed modest (but unexpected) growth, people breathed a sigh of relief. Even though inflation is still rising, it’s not surging at a crazy pace, which again is somewhat comforting.

This improved sentiment was a factor in supporting the stock market overall, but the rising tide helped to lift Lloyds stock, too. However, when thinking about risks, this is one that I would flag. The UK economy is fragile. Even though data in February was OK, I’m not convinced that we’ll go through 2025 without some data scares around high inflation and weak consumer spending. The bank could be negatively impacted by this, due to the potential for higher loan defaults.

Based on the drivers behind the share price rally, I’m optimistic overall for Lloyds stock. It’s a share that I feel investors should consider.