The Dividend Illusion

The accumulation of capital, they say, is a bulwark against the encroaching chaos. A palliative for the soul, perhaps. One invests, not in hope, but in the quiet desperation that accompanies the realization that time, like a particularly avaricious bureaucrat, demands its due. The dividend, then, is merely a temporary reprieve, a small offering to appease the relentless march of entropy. Reinvest it, of course. Feed the beast. It’s the only way to postpone the inevitable reckoning.

There are, naturally, degrees of illusion. Some stocks merely offer the appearance of yield, a sugary coating on a fundamentally unsound enterprise. Others… others possess a certain grim durability. The two specimens presented here fall into the latter category, though even they are not immune to the absurdities of the modern financial theatre. Durable, yes. Invincible? Do not mistake me for an optimist.

Visa

Visa (V 3.12%) is, at its core, a facilitator of desire. A modern-day sorcerer, conjuring transactions from thin air. People will always find something to covet, something to exchange their dwindling resources for. And Visa, with its ubiquitous plastic rectangles, stands at the nexus of this endless, often pointless, exchange. They claim to improve credit scores. A curious notion. As if a numerical rating could truly capture the weight of one’s financial anxieties. The perks, of course, are the true lure. The illusion of status, neatly packaged and delivered with each swipe.

The recent earnings reports speak of billions in revenue, a net profit margin that would make a Tsarist financier blush. A 14% dividend increase. Impressive, certainly. But one wonders what sacrifices were made at the altar of shareholder value. How many small businesses were quietly crushed under the weight of transaction fees? How many individuals were lured into a cycle of debt? The numbers, alas, tell only a fraction of the story.

Five point one billion distributed to shareholders. A generous gesture, or a calculated attempt to quell the rising tide of discontent? The firm retained a modest surplus. Enough, presumably, to fund the next round of marketing campaigns, the next wave of consumer manipulation. The cycle continues, inexorable and absurd.

Caterpillar

Caterpillar (CAT +2.10%) is a monument to human ambition. A titan of construction, spanning generations and surviving countless booms and busts. They build things. That, at least, is a tangible accomplishment. Though one suspects that much of what they construct serves only to accelerate our collective descent into chaos. The artificial intelligence buildout, they proclaim, is a ‘megatrend.’ As if trends were not inherently fleeting, destined to be replaced by the next shiny object.

Power generators, data centers, the relentless demand for more and more energy. It is a fever dream, fueled by the insatiable appetite of the digital gods. Caterpillar, of course, is happy to oblige. They provide the tools, the infrastructure, the means to perpetuate this madness. A 35% stock increase. A record-breaking quarter. The numbers swell, obscuring the fundamental emptiness of it all. A $51 billion backlog. Mountains of steel and concrete, destined to become… what, exactly?

Seven point nine billion distributed to shareholders. Another dividend increase. The spoils of progress, they call it. I call it a distraction. A temporary respite from the gnawing realization that we are building castles on sand. The cycle continues, predictable and profoundly disheartening. Perhaps, one day, the foundations will crumble. But until then, we shall continue to accumulate, to reinvest, to pretend that all is well.

2026-02-16 09:32

Visa

Caterpillar

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