National Fuel is an integrated energy company with approximately $8.7 billion in assets. The regulated gas utility operation distributes and transports gas to approximately 750,000 customers in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. The E&P segment, Seneca Resources, produces crude oil and natural gas in Appalachia. The Pipeline and Storage segment owns and operates natural gas pipelines running from Pennsylvania through western New York to the Canadian border near Buffalo. The company has 2,100 employees. The shares are a component of the S&P 400 Midcap Index.

The big earnings news this week comes from Nvidia and Walmart, and follows worries at the end of last week about renewed inflation and rising yields. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.1%. Year to date, all three indices remain in positive territory, with the DJIA up 3%, the S&P 500 up 8%, and the Nasdaq up 13%. On the earnings calendar, highlights include Home Depot, Toll Brothers, and CAVA Group on Tuesday; Nvidia, TJX, Lowe's, and Target on Wednesday; Walmart, Deere, Ralph Lauren on Thursday; and Williams-Sonoma on Friday. Some 91% of S&P 500 companies have reported so far, and overall earnings are up 28% from last quarter. Information Technology, up 53%, and Communication Services, up 51%, are leading the pack. At the bottom are Healthcare, down 3%, and Energy, down 1%, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. The economic calendar is light this week. The minutes of the Fed's last rate meeting in May will be released on Wednesday; data on Housing Starts and Building Permits on Thursday; and an update on Consumer Sentiment on Friday. Turning to economic data and forecasts, gas prices are rose another five cents last week and are now at an average of $4.50 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecasts 4.0% GDP growth for 2Q, which compares to the 2% actual reading for 1Q. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast forecast for CPI in May is 4.2%, compared to the 3.8% print for April and 3.3% in March. Mortgage rates remained essentially flat last week, down one basis point, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.36%, according to FreddieMac. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is on June 17. Odds are at 1% for a rate cut. Kevin Warsh now officially holds the top job at the Federal Reserve, while outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell will remain on the as a governor. Taking a deeper dive into performance so far in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 6% year to date. The leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 19% year to date. U.S. growth stocks are up 4% year to date when looking at ETF IWF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 10%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil was at $101 per barrel and up 75% for the year so far. In other asset classes for the year t -date, AGG bonds are down 2%, gold is up 4%, and Bitcoin is down 10%. The U.S. dollar is up 1%, tracking DXY. The VIX volatility index was about 18 on Friday, below its historical average of 20.

Value stocks -- a market segment that includes high-yield stocks -- outperformed growth stocks in 2022. In 2025, value stocks and growth stocks had similar returns, with growth advancing 13.8% and value returning 13.6%. That's a recent rarity, as for the past decade-plus, the performance record has favored growth. But in 2022, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines gave a lift to some of the cyclical companies (energy and regional banks), and value stocks outpaced growth stocks that year. While growth stocks led for a few years after that, value stocks are back in the picture as investors rotate out of higher-priced AI growth stocks in search of more reasonable valuations. Value stocks tend to be more resilient in times of market uncertainty and higher volatility as they are less likely to overreact to economic news. In any event, the value sector is the place to achieve income.

National Fuel is an integrated energy company with approximately $8.7 billion in assets. The regulated gas utility operation distributes and transports gas to approximately 750,000 customers in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. The E&P segment, Seneca Resources, produces crude oil and natural gas in Appalachia. The pipeline & storage segment owns and operates natural gas pipelines running from Pennsylvania through western New York to the Canadian border near Buffalo. The company has 2,100 employees. The shares are a component of the S&P 400 Midcap Index.