This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Prologis is a global industrial REIT that owns, builds, and manages space for warehouses, manufacturing, distribution, and large-scale storage. PLD has become the world's largest industrial REIT by focusing on business-to-business fulfillment and e-commerce. As of the beginning of 2025, PLD's portfolio had just under 5,900 buildings with 1.3 billion square feet of space. Many properties have on-site solar, and about one-fifth of assets are warehouses over 500,000 square feet. The REIT has a presence in 20 countries on four continents, and about 65% of total properties are in North America, which accounted for about 85% of NOI. The company's top tenants are Amazon, Home Depot, and FedEx, with Amazon accounting for about 5% of net effective rent. PLD partners with other companies in joint ventures to reduce risk. The REIT also has a co-investment program labeled Strategic Capital that creates venture opportunities for institutional capital partners. Strategic Capital accounted for about 8% of total 2024 revenues. PLD has faced pressure from an oversupply of warehouse space due to slowing sales at online retailers. In response, the company has focused on customized facilities and increasing its focus into developing data center facilities. In early 2023, all new development projects were customized, 99% of total units were leased or in negotiations, and joint venture promote income was a key driver of earnings growth. In 2024, about one-third of new development starts were built to suit. Management estimates that the weighted-average stabilized yield of acquisitions in 2024 was about 5%. The company is a member of the S&P 500 and has a market cap of about $95 billion.

Tesla, Alphabet Report Corporate earnings reports continue to pour in this week, with CEOs offering views about how tariffs will impact their individual businesses. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.1%, the S&P 500 was up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%. All three indices are negative for the year, as the DJIA has declined 8%, the S&P 500 is down 10%, and the Nasdaq has lost 16%. The earnings calendar features some big tech and pharmaceutical names this week. On Tuesday, Tesla, GE Aerospace, Verizon, and Lockheed Martin report; on Wednesday, Philip Morris, IBM, AT&T, and Boeing; and on Thursday, Alphabet, Intel, Procter & Gamble, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, and PepsiCo. Consensus estimates for 1Q25 EPS growth range from about 3%-8%. This follows 17% growth in 4Q24 EPS and 9% growth in 3Q24, according to LSEG. Leading sectors for 1Q25 are expected to be Healthcare and Information Technology. Growth from the Mag 7, at about 18% collectively, is expected to outpace overall growth. On the downside, earnings from the Energy sector are expected to decline 15%. On the economic calendar, this is a quiet week. But there are two under-the-radar releases that could offer a valuable read on possible Fed policy and whether layoffs might tip the economy into a recession. On Wednesday, the release of the Beige Book will offer investors a look at some of the same information the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will review before the members meet to set monetary policy on May 6 and 7. The Beige Book is a summary of anecdotal information on current economic conditions. The information is collected by each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts before FOMC meetings. With elevated market volatility, declines in consumer and business confidence, and few signs of trouble in the 'hard data,' the information in this Beige Book may carry extra weight. On Thursday, the Labor Department will release an important, but little followed, unemployment rate along with weekly jobless claims. The Economic Call of the Week from Argus' Chief Economist Chris Graja, CFA, is for the Insured Unemployment Rate to remain very low, at 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The rate measures the percentage of individuals covered by unemployment insurance who are actively receiving unemployment benefits. Chris offers the following thoughts. 'One reason we want to highlight this particular unemployment rate is because it is used in the new Scavette-O'Trakoun-Sahm-style (SOS) Recession Indicator, which recently appeared in the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Economic Brief. We will write about the weekly SOS Indicator in an upcoming report. It is not currently sending a recession signal, but it could offer an early warning if government job cuts and signs of a slowing economy become enough to trigger a recession.' Elsewhere, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow measure now forecasts a decline of 2.2% for 1Q, signally contraction. We have lowered our forecast for GDP, and now expect expansion of 1.4% in 1Q and 1.3% for all of 2025. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast forecasts a 2.4% rate for CPI for April, in-line with the March rate. Mortgage rates rose 21 basis points last week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.83%, according to FreddieMac. Gas prices fell seven cents to an average of $3.17 per gallon for regular gas. Looking ahead, the next Fed rate decision is on May 7 with odds at 13% for a rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch rate tool. After that, the next meeting is on June 18 when odds jump to 61% for a cut.

Prologis was formed by the June 2011 merger of AMB Property and Prologis Trust. The company develops, acquires, and operates around 1.3 billion square feet of high-quality industrial and logistics facilities across the globe. The company also has a strategic capital business segment that has around $60 billion of third-party AUM. The company is organized into four global divisions (Americas, Europe, Asia, and other Americas) and operates as a real estate investment trust.