Congress Is Still Beating the Market — Here's What They're Buying

Coveting the crown’s one thing. Turning it into an empire’s another. So Westbound & Down didn’t blink after winning Brewery of the Year at the 2025 Great American Beer Festival. They began their next phase. Already Colorado’s most-awarded brewery, distribution’s grown 2,800% since 2019, including a Whole Foods retail partnership. And after this latest title, they’ll quadruple distribution by 2028. Become an early-stage investor today.

Invest in W&D Now

This is a paid advertisement for Westbound & Down’s Regulation CF Offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.westboundanddown.com/

Here's something that might surprise you: members of Congress have been outperforming both the S&P 500 AND Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway since the Stock Act of 2012. Yes, you read that right — elected officials are beating the Oracle of Omaha at his own game.

Now, whether you think this is fair or not is a whole different conversation. But here's what we can do — we can see exactly what they're buying. And with the market hitting all-time highs in 2025, members of Congress aren't sitting on their hands. They're actively adding to their portfolios.

Today, we're breaking down three stocks that Congress has been loading up on: two solid dividend growers and one high-yielder that might catch your attention.

Let's dive in.

Remember when everyone was saying AI would kill Google? That ChatGPT and other AI tools would make Google Search irrelevant? Well, Congress didn't buy that story — literally.

Alphabet has been one of the most heavily purchased stocks by members of Congress in recent quarters. And looking at the numbers, you can see why. The stock is up a whopping 87.54% in the last six months alone.

From 2023 through mid-2025, there was this narrative floating around that AI would destroy Google's competitive advantage. But Google has proven everyone wrong. Their Search revenue grew 15% year-over-year, and their own AI tool, Gemini, is now considered a leader in categories like reasoning and math.

Big moves in energy infrastructure: Google just bought a data center energy provider called Intersect for $4.75 billion. Why? Because AI and cloud computing need massive amounts of power, and Google is securing its future.

Strong balance sheet: While the company has shifted to a small net debt position to fund the AI race, they historically operate with net cash. This is a company that can weather storms.

The valuation math: Yes, the stock trades at a PE of around 30.28 — not cheap. But with projected EPS growth of 12.42%, some analysts believe the stock could deliver compounded returns of over 10% by 2029 or 2030. That's the kind of math Congress seems to be betting on.

This one might raise some eyebrows. Verizon's stock is down 32% over the past five years. Revenue has been basically flat for a decade. Not exactly a growth story, right?

But here's the thing — Congress has been buying Verizon like crazy. In fact, there's been significantly more political trading activity in Verizon in the most recent quarter than in the last several years combined. Something's going on.

The headline number? A starting dividend yield close to 7%. In a world where savings accounts pay a fraction of that, 7% is hard to ignore.

This is the million-dollar question. Let's look at the numbers:

In the first nine months of 2025, Verizon generated $15.8 billion in free cash flow. They paid out $8.6 billion in dividends. That's a comfortable cushion — they're generating nearly twice what they need to pay shareholders.

The company also maintains healthy debt levels relative to their size. And using a dividend discount model, some analysts estimate Verizon's fair value at around $42 to $43 per share. If that's accurate, there's about 7% upside just from the stock price — plus that juicy dividend.

It's not sexy. It won't make you rich overnight. But for income-focused investors, there's a reason Congress is paying attention.

You might not have heard of Brown and Brown, and that's okay. It's not a household name. But members of Congress clearly know about it — there was significant political buying in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The stock is down about 21% in the last year, but here's what's interesting: their sales have continued to grow. The market has punished this stock, but the business keeps chugging along.

Think of them as the middleman in the insurance industry. They connect customers with insurance carriers and earn commissions (about 70% of their revenue) and fees (about 30%). They're not the ones taking the risk — they're just making the match.

Here's a simple way to think about it: Brown and Brown is like a high-end travel agent rather than the airline itself. The airline (the insurer) has to deal with the massive costs and risks of maintaining planes and dealing with weather delays (underwriting risks). The travel agent (Brown and Brown) simply takes a fee for connecting travelers with the best flight. They benefit whenever people travel — without owning any planes.

This "capital-light" business model means they avoid the balance sheet risk that comes with actually underwriting insurance policies.

Dividend growth: They've grown their dividend by more than 4x since 2009. That's the kind of track record income investors love.

Strategic moves: They recently completed a $9.8 billion acquisition of Session Risk Management Group, expanding their footprint in the industry.

Valuation opportunity: The stock's PE multiple has dropped from a high of 34.3 to about 23.85 in 2025. Using discounted cash flow analysis with a 9% free cash flow growth estimate, some analysts calculate fair value at $96.76 — suggesting over 20% upside from current prices.

This might explain why Congress is buying while others are selling.

So there you have it — three stocks that members of Congress have been quietly adding to their portfolios:

Now, should you buy these just because Congress is buying them? Of course not. Always do your own research. But when the people with access to the most information are putting their money somewhere, it's worth paying attention.

That's your five minutes for today. See you tomorrow.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.