Over the years, I’ve been investing in many blue-chip stocks, even when current market trends were suggesting I do otherwise. Two individual stocks that I’d like to bring to your attention today are McDonald’s Corporation, and Comcast Corporation. When I bought into McDonald’s several years ago, people thought that was the wrong decision.

Public opinion was firmly against fast food corporations that generated their profits from saturating their produce in boiling hot oil. America and the world were moving away from French fries and burgers, towards healthier eating habits. I bought into McDonald’s when the price was around $116. Today, McDonald’s is trading at $157.30, and rising fast. Let’s take a look at McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) and see how well the stock has been performing and why.

MCD stock has a market capitalization of $128.211 billion. The 52-week trading range of the stock is $110.33 on the low end and $159.98 on the high-end. Given its current performance, it is trading near its best level in 1 year. Analysts anticipate MCD stock will hit $171.08 within the next year, and given its current earnings, it’s on track. The actual versus estimate earnings for MCD stock since Q3 2016 include the following:

• Q3 2016, estimated earnings of $1.48 per share, with actual earnings of $1.62 per share
• Q4 2016, estimated earnings of $1.41 per share with actual earnings of $1.43 per share
• Q1 2017, estimated earnings of $1.33 per share and actual earnings of $1.47 per share
• Q2 2017, estimated earnings of $1.62 per share and actual earnings of $1.70 per share
• Q3 2017 currently has estimated earnings of $1.76 per share

In terms of financials, 2014 revenues came in at $27.44 billion, with earnings of $4.76 billion. Fast-forward to 2015, revenues of $25.41 billion were recorded, with earnings of $4.53 billion. This declining trend reversed slightly in 2016 with lower revenues of $24.62 billion, but higher earnings of $4.69 billion. This points to a turnaround in McDonald’s strategy. The company is generating less revenues but higher earnings.

Thanks to its diversified menu and focus on cost-cutting, the franchise is now far more profitable. On a rating scale of 1.0 (strong buy) to 5.0 (sell), McDonald’s has been rated at 2.1 by Reuters analysts. This indicates it is a buy option. Consensus among analysts is boosted by multiple upgrades in 2017. Many companies including Wells Fargo, Bernstein, BMO Capital, Argus Research, Goldman Sachs, and Cowen & Company have all upgraded their forecast for McDonald’s. This bodes well for this blue-chip stock.

Comcast Corporation Performing Well

Now, let’s turn our attention to another top dividend stock – Comcast Corporation. Comcast Corporation goes by the ticker CMCSA. The stock is currently trading at $41.11 per share, and rising. For the year to date, Comcast Corporation has risen steadily from $34.53 per share to its current level. The company has a market capitalization of $193.767 billion, and a $0.63 dividend and a yield of 1.58%.

The 1-year target estimate price for the stock is $46.21 per share. I like Comcast Corporation because its performance has been solid over the past 1 year. Consider that it was trading at $33.76 on August 15, 2016. This is a solid return in a short time. If we focus on the quarterly earnings since Q3 2016, Comcast Corporation stock has shown strong growth throughout. It has exceeded earnings forecasts at every opportunity, and growth trends remain strong. The financials of the company are particularly impressive:

• 2014 revenue of $68.78 billion with earnings of $8.38 billion
• 2015 revenue of $74.51 billion and earnings of $8.16 billion
• 2016 revenue of $80.4 billion and earnings of $8.7 billion

On a rating scale of 1.0 (strong buy) to 5.0 (sell), Comcast Corporation is currently at 1.7. This stock is regarded as a strong buy, and the latest upgrade by Guggenheim pushed it from a neutral to a buy rating (August 3, 2017). Both these stocks have shown incredible promise over the past year, much to my satisfaction.

If you are looking to enjoy the dividends from these stocks, it’s a smart idea to transfer profits from your trading account to your bank account abroad. Investors routinely ask me for advice on how best to go about receiving money from overseas to your bank account . Fortunately, there are better ways to cash out of your investments than traditional bank accounts. Banks tend to levy high fees on incoming wire transfers and outgoing international wires.

It is far more beneficial for investors to use non-bank services to get more of the dividends you have earned from stocks like Comcast Corporation and McDonald’s. You wire funds in USD through a money transfer service, and you will receive them in your preferred currency abroad. Banks tack on high exchange rate fees, hidden charges and commissions, but non-bank providers are known to cut costs dramatically. This is one way that you get to keep more of your dividends for yourself.