Global Value: 3 Stocks Under $10 Riding a Weak Dollar
Like many things, diversification isn’t a priority to many investors until it is. In 2025, a weak dollar has many investors looking for better returns from international stocks. The macroeconomic view is that a weaker U.S. dollar (USD) increases the value of foreign earnings when converted to USD, making international stocks more attractive.
The passage of the Trump administration’s One Big, Beautiful Bill raised Congress's debt ceiling cap. Even while Congress is making some spending cuts around the edges, more government spending is inflationary, which will keep pressure on the dollar. Also, analysts are reasonably confident that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates sometime this fall.
That supports the case that international stocks may still have room to run in 2025. For speculative investors, rather than looking at the meme stock trade, here are three stocks under $10 that may satisfy animal spirits.
The Buffett Effect Helps the Case for Mizuho Financial Group
Warren Buffett has long argued that Japanese stocks offer value. Now that the Bank of Japan has started cautiously raising interest rates, investors are following Buffett’s advice. Japanese stocks like Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: MFG) are attracting investor capital.
The fundamental case for Japan's third-largest bank boils down to net interest margins. As Japan’s yield curve steepens, loan profitability and earnings power improve for Japanese banks.
MFG stock is up about 20% in 2025 as investors have been looking for alternatives to U.S. bank stocks. The growth has occurred despite headwinds due to uncertainty in U.S.-Japan trade relations. However, with a deal being reached, investors anticipate the Bank of Japan will continue raising rates at a measured pace.
That would increase the bull case for Mizuho, which has attractive fundamentals, including an attractive price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 1.07.
An Undervalued Semiconductor Play With a Geopolitical Edge
Staying in Asia, investors can satisfy their desire to invest in technology stocks with United Microelectronics Corp. (NYSE: UMC). The Taiwan-based semiconductor company doesn’t garner the headlines of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE: TSM). However, as many companies look to diversify their chip supply chains, United Microelectronics is showing strong growth.
United Micro’s strength is in mature notes (28nm and above) needed in automotive, Internet of Things (IoT), and industrial applications. The company isn’t going to be on the cutting edge of chip technology, but it’s a leader in its space and offers investors a stable net margin of 19%.
The downside to the company’s market is that it operates in sectors still facing tariff concerns. That may explain why UMC stock is up just 9.7% in 2025 and still down 5.6% in the last 12 months.
However, a global economic rebound would clarify the company’s outlook. Investors will find out more when the company reports earnings on July 30.
Pulp Giant Leveraged to Global Packaging and Sustainability Trends
When investors think about basic materials stocks, pulp and paper may not be the first things that come to mind. However, this is a growth sector in 2025 as pulp prices have started to recover. That trend should have strong tailwinds into 2026, which is why investors may want to consider Suzano S.A. (NYSE: SUZ).
The Brazilian company is the world’s largest pulp producer. SUZ stock is up nearly 5% in the last three months after the company announced a joint venture with Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) to jointly operate the company’s tissue division outside the United States.
Suzano makes sense as a bet on the continued weakness in the U.S. dollar. The Brazilian real has strengthened in the first half of the year, but Suzano’s products are priced globally in dollars, which adds to the bull case for a stock that looks to have bottomed in April.
Learn more about SUZ
