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Microsoft, however, has lately experienced a slight diminution in its standing – a circumstance which, whilst causing a degree of consternation amongst the more excitable investors, presents a more discerning eye with an opportunity. The stock, having retreated some twenty percent from its recent peak, finds itself in a position not dissimilar to a young lady of good fortune, temporarily overlooked in the season’s arrangements. The cause, it is said, lies in anxieties surrounding OpenAI, in which Microsoft holds a considerable stake and maintains a close, if somewhat complicated, partnership.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH +2.08%) operates, let’s say, a vast logistical undertaking. They manage the health of a nation, a task akin to herding cats while simultaneously auditing a bank. Alongside this, they’ve established Optum, a platform for pharmacy benefits, data analysis, and direct patient care. A sensible diversification, one might think. However, the company anticipates losing up to 2.8 million members, a rather significant attrition, due to – shall we say – a necessary recalibration of pricing. It seems raising rates, while logically sound, isn’t always popular. A lesson for all aspiring monopolists.

Back in twenty-twenty, when doors slammed shut and the world huddled indoors, Teladoc seemed a lifeline. It wasn’t just a company; it was a necessity. Like a traveling doctor in a time of plague, it offered connection when connection was all but forbidden. It rose, yes, a good two-hundred and twenty-four percent, a surge that drew in folks hoping for a piece of the future. Twenty-six-three a share… a high-water mark quickly swallowed by the returning tide.

There is a temptation, a seductive ease, in chasing the new, the glittering promise of the unproven. But true value, I suspect, often resides in the foundations, in those entities that have already weathered storms, even as they prepare for the next. To seek both, then – the volatile hope and the established strength – is not mere diversification, but a recognition of the inherent duality of human endeavor. A desperate gamble, perhaps, but what isn’t?

It’s not that Zillow is doing badly, exactly. Quite the opposite. Their fourth-quarter revenue rose a respectable 18% to $654 million. Their rental business is booming – up 45% – which is perhaps not entirely surprising. People, it turns out, still require shelter. And mortgages, too, are doing nicely, increasing 39%. It’s all very…robust. The CEO and CFO, Jeremy Wacksman and Jeremy Hofmann (a remarkable concentration of Jeremys, wouldn’t you say?), cheerfully informed shareholders that more and more people are turning to Zillow to help them navigate the often-perilous journey of moving. It’s a comforting thought, that a website can offer guidance in such a life-altering undertaking.

This company, providing the very power for these new reckonings in artificial intelligence, is a volatile thing. A beta of 4.28 means it dances to a quicker tune than most, a wider swing of fortune and loss. But beneath the surface tremors, there’s a current building, a slow, steady pull toward something substantial. It’s not about quick riches, but about finding a place to put your money where it might, over time, bear fruit.

One observes, with a degree of quiet satisfaction, that ExxonMobil has begun to distinguish itself amongst the more hopeful candidates. I had ventured, some time ago, to suggest that ExxonMobil, alongside Visa, Oracle, and Netflix, possessed the potential to reach this enviable valuation by the year 2030. Yet, the company has demonstrated a most agreeable haste, advancing with a vigor that exceeds even the most optimistic predictions. Indeed, the current year finds ExxonMobil up nearly twenty-four percent, its market capitalization now exceeding six hundred and twenty-two billion dollars – a circumstance that demands a renewed consideration of its merits.

The recently published quarterly results offer a further illustration of this principle. While many in the restaurant trade are struggling, McDonald’s continues to demonstrate a capacity for growth, a quality not to be dismissed lightly. It is a business that understands its customers, and, more importantly, understands what those customers want – a reliable product at a predictable price.

FSTA, a fund of considerable size and ambition, favors the grandest establishments – the Costcos, the Walmarts, the Procter & Gambles – those titans upon whose shoulders the consumer world rests. It allocates its resources, as a monarch might distribute favors, according to the weight of their influence. RSPS, however, adopts a more democratic, if somewhat naive, approach. It distributes its affections equally amongst a host of lesser, though not insignificant, players. A most egalitarian sentiment, to be sure, yet one wonders if true prosperity can be achieved through such indiscriminate generosity.