Starbucks & The Everlasting Cup

They laid out a plan, see, stretchin’ all the way to 2028. A long view, they call it. Seems reasonable enough, though predictin’ the future is a fool’s errand, if you ask me. But tucked away in all that talk was a little nugget: another 5,000 stores in the U.S. Just 5,000, they say. But then they hint, with a wink and a nod, that if folks keep buyin’ their fancy coffee, that number could double. Double! That’s 10,000 more places to get a cup of joe, addin’ to the 18,360 they already got scattered ’round North America. It’s enough to make a man wonder if they aim to have a Starbucks on every street corner.

GE Vernova: Worth the Buzz, Or Just a Clever Spin?

Apparently, everyone’s suddenly decided they need more power. Go figure. GE Vernova’s Power division – gas turbines, steam turbines, the whole shebang – accounted for a hefty 55% of their orders. Fifty-five percent! It’s like they’re cornering the market on keeping the lights on. Which, okay, is a solid business model. The Electrification side – transformers, substations, all that grid stuff – chipped in with another third. And then there’s Wind. Bless its little, slightly-underperforming heart. It’s the awkward cousin at the family gathering. More on that later. Here’s a breakdown, because numbers are apparently important. Even to me, and I usually operate on gut feeling.

Nvidia: Already Enough, Probably

This series, dedicated to the rather fascinating, if slightly terrifying, phenomenon that is Nvidia for the Voyager Portfolio, has already covered the history and recent financial successes of this silicon behemoth. Today, we arrive at the final installment, examining Nvidia’s future plans and, more importantly, why many investors might not actually need to rush out and buy more shares. (It’s a bit like buying extra oxygen when you’re already breathing. Technically possible, but…redundant.)

Fleeting Fortunes: Two Stocks in a Restless Market

The consumer, ever a fickle creature, remains hesitant, and those enterprises that cater to discretionary spending find themselves navigating a landscape of shifting preferences and constrained budgets. It is here, in this realm of measured risk, that a careful allocation of resources – a mere five thousand dollars, perhaps – might yield a return, a small victory against the prevailing winds.

GE Vernova: A Rather Peculiar Power Play

The real mischief-maker in all this? Artificial Intelligence. These AI data centers – enormous, humming boxes of blinking lights and complicated calculations – are gobbling up electricity like greedy little monsters. They swallowed 1.5% of the whole world’s power last year, and are growing fatter by the moment at a rate of 12% per year. Imagine! It’s enough to make a sensible investor twitch.

Dividends & The Improbable Future

Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP 0.07%). A solid name, really. They’re in the renewable energy business, which is, if you think about it, trying to recapture energy that’s already been used. A bit like trying to un-eat a biscuit, but on a grand, industrial scale. They do the usual things – hydro, solar, wind – but they’ve also moved into energy storage and, crucially, nuclear power. They own 50% of Westinghouse, which is, as far as I can tell, involved in the fascinating and slightly terrifying business of splitting atoms.

Silicon Labs: A Peculiar Ascent

The numbers, as they are wont to do, presented themselves. Analysts, those tireless scribes of expectation, anticipated a paltry $0.55 per share, on sales of $207.6 million. Silicon Labs, however, managed to exceed these modest projections. A mere $0.56 per share, and $208 million in sales. A triumph, to be sure. Though one suspects the accountants breathed a sigh of relief more profound than any shareholder.

Buffett’s Unseen Kingdom: The Meta Omission

Buffett, a man who measured value in the weight of tangible assets – the steel, the railroads, the See’s Candies – had long resisted the siren song of the intangible. He preferred businesses with moats carved deep by years of steady performance, a predictable rhythm like the pulse of a sleeping town. Yet, even the most steadfast captain must occasionally adjust his sails to navigate shifting winds. He cautiously entered the digital sea, acquiring Apple, then Amazon, and, later, Alphabet, guided by the keen eyes of his lieutenants, Weschler and Combs, men who understood the language of algorithms and the fickle hearts of consumers. These were, without question, formidable holdings, each a fortress guarding its share of the modern world.

Oklo: A Reactor and a Reverie

One might draw a parallel with Meta Platforms (META 2.22%), a company which, in its infancy, was similarly devoid of earnings. It scaled, it prospered, and now, after a suitable interval, it deigns to distribute a modest portion of its wealth. A yield of 0.29% is hardly extravagant, of course, but those who invested a decade ago enjoy a considerably more gratifying return. Whether Oklo will follow this trajectory remains, naturally, to be seen. The markets are littered with the wreckage of similar hopes.