The Two Best Ways to Trade “Drill, Baby, Drill” BY ERIC FRY, EDITOR, SMART MONEY Hello, reader. Amid the blitz of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump this week, two in particular have the potential to turn the best trade of early 2025 into the best trade of maybe the next few years. Let me explain… Since the start of the year, we’ve seen La Niña conditions officially develop, and those typically bring frigid winters to North America. That’s certainly true this year. On Monday, Washington saw its coldest Inauguration Day since 1985. And Southern American cities from Houston to New Orleans to Jacksonville are still digging out of the region’s heaviest snowfall since accurate records began in the early 1900s. Oil and gas stocks are surging. Plus, my Forecast #4 for 2025 in Fry’s Investment Report – that natural gas will outperform the S&P 500 – is off to a strong start. Let’s take a look at some numbers… Clearly, those who speculated on energy in late 2024 are feeling mighty smug right now… and may even be considering cashing out to take some gains. But I think they may want to hold on a while longer. Better yet, they should consider making a small, simple change to their investment approach… one that can transform double-digit winners into triple-digit windfalls. (I dive into many more details in a free research video on the strategy that my team just put together, which you can check out here.) Here’s the thing: Trump is going to ratchet up domestic energy production like we’ve never seen before. And he’s doing that via two executive orders he signed this week: “Unleashing American Energy” and “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” The first order encourages “energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters… in order to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future.” The second order lifts restrictions on oil, gas, and mineral production in Alaska by maximizing “the development and production of the natural resources located on both federal and state lands within Alaska” and prioritizing “the development of Alaska’s LNG potential.” This includes the sale and transportation of Alaskan LNG across the United States and the Pacific region. The goal here is to revive the LNG industry, which produces and transports natural gas in liquid form. It is historically a cost-effective way to transport natural gas over long distances and to places where pipelines are not feasible. Now, not all natural gas is created equal. Its location greatly affects its value. For example, natural gas fetches $4.43 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at the Henry Hub pipeline convergence point in Louisiana. But gas at the Waha Hub trading outpost near the Delaware Basin in West Texas “sells” for minus $1.06/MMBTU. In other words, producers near the Waha Hub literally pay companies to truck away natural gas. The Delaware region’s natural gas, much like a long-distance sweetheart, is geographically undesirable. But the economics of producing natural gas in the Delaware Basin may be on the verge of a major transformation – one that will flip today’s negative gas pricing into solidly positive pricing. And I’ve found two ways to take advantage of the opportunity. The first is a stock. The second is a simple twist in your investment strategy that can turn 2X winners into 5X winners – and beyond. Let’s take a look… | Recommended Link | | | | A top tech expert warns: “there’s perhaps a few hundred people in the world who realize what’s about to hit us.” Eric Fry is one of them… and he’s started a 1,000 day countdown to prepare for its launch. Click here for 3 steps to take today. |  |
The “Pipeline” to Achieving Long-Term Gains Investment in natural gas transport and processing facilities has recently ramped up in the Delaware Basin. One of those facilities is a new pipeline that transports up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Waha Hub to the Katy area just west of Houston. This pipeline opened in the fall of 2024. And another pipeline is expected to begin operating in 2026. This one will transport gas from West Texas to the Agua Dulce Hub in South Texas, near Corpus Christi. Now, one particular natural gas producer has contracted for significant offtake capacity on both pipelines. It is planning to ramp up its natural gas production from the Delaware Basin over the next few years… and to take advantage of the LNG pricing improvement as these projects get built out. I first spotted the opportunity that this company is offering back in November. That is when I recommended it to my Eric Fry’s Leverage subscribers. Now, one way of investing in this natural gas opportunity would be to buy and hold a stock. But at Leverage, we do something a little different. We use the power of options. Some of you might be thinking, “What exactly is an option?” Essentially, they are side bets on a stock’s price that allow investors to make enormouspayoffs if they get things right. The math might be complicated, but the outcome is straightforward. Plainly put, an option is a security that confers the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell a specific security at an agreed price within a set period of time. Every option is identified with a specific stock. So, whenever you place an options trade, the movement of the underlying stock will affect the success or failure of your investment. The Power of LEAPS Now, all options have expiration dates. It’s usually a matter of weeks or months. But LEAPS are long-dated options with expirations lasting from one to three years. And when it comes to making gains of 100%, 200%, 1,000%, and more, I typically recommend LEAPS options. In fact, just this week my Leverage subscribers booked partial gains of more than 550% on a dynamic AI LEAPS call option. Some readers will see the 15% upside in Kimberly-Clark (KMB) shares and say, “Yes, please.” Corporate bonds are only returning 5% annually, and KMB’s upside represents three years of potential returns. Others will consider a 15% upside a rounding error. After all, firms like Eversource and AbbVie offer far greater potential. And high-growth startups can offer 1,000% upside or more. That’s why I have a different strategy to make even more money on stocks on the verge of the breakout (especially if they’re out of favor). I use this strategy to turn small moves in stocks over a year or two into huge gains. For example… - The gold ETF (GLD) I recommended went up 9%… But by using this strategy, my members saw their stake in GLD go up 117%.
- Shares of the bond ETF (TLT) rose 18%, but my play went up 107%.
- And my recommendation of Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (VIPS) went up 22% for the stock… But my strategy soared 252%!
That’s why you should consider the power of my LEAPS strategy applied to some of these – and other – cyclical stocks… during their up-cycles. The stocks I just shared all have double-digit potential in the near future. But with a LEAPS position… bought at today’s prices… with the economic benefit of leverage that long-term options give you… triple-digit returns are definitely in play. And quadruple-digit returns like my subscribers saw from Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) are possible. It’s why, to return back to the natural gas producer in the Delaware Basin, I recommended the trade as a LEAPS call option. And I put all of the details of this company is a new special report for my Leverage subscribers, called Three LEAPS Trades to Make Today. I also share two additional LEAPS recommendations in the report. You can learn how to access this special report – and the power of my options trading strategy – by joining me at Eric Fry’s Leverage today. You will also receive two additional special reports, How to Make Your First Options Trade in Minutes and LEAPS: The Only Options Strategy Where You Have the Advantage. When used selectively, like we do at Leverage, options can impart powerful benefits to an investment portfolio, turning ordinary stock moves into large profits. Click here to learn more. Regards, Eric Fry
Editor, Smart Money | 
