Dust & Dividends: A Long View

One accumulates years, you see, and with them, a certain… patience. A tolerance for the absurd. The market, it is a stage populated by frantic marionettes, each convinced of their own brilliance. I confess, I prefer to observe from a distance, to select those companies that, despite the chaos, seem… stubbornly persistent. Not for quick riches, mind you. Those are for the pigeons. No, I seek companies that whisper of decades, not quarters.

The Black Gold Still Flows

They speak of a ‘green’ future. Laudable, perhaps. But let us not delude ourselves. The world still runs on the viscous remains of ancient sunlight. And until the very foundations of our civilization are rewritten, someone must transport this… necessary evil. Energy Transfer LP (ET +0.29%) does precisely that. A network of pipes and tanks stretching across this vast land, a subterranean circulatory system for the age of combustion. It is not elegant, but it is… reliable.

The quarterly reports, of course, are a theater of numbers. A slight dip here, a modest gain there. But look beyond the superficial. The dividend, that steady drip of income, is the true measure of this company. A payout ratio exceeding 100%? A trifle! Such things have happened before, and the world did not end. They will adjust, they always do. One simply needs to be… patient. And reinvest, naturally. Let the dividends compound, like a slow, insidious growth. It is a rather… demonic process, when you think about it.

The Promise of Controlled Fire

Oil is fading, they say. Uranium is the future. A curious notion. To replace one form of controlled explosion with another. But there is a certain… logic to it. And Cameco (CCJ 0.64%) is well-positioned to profit from this transition. They dig it from the earth, refine it, and sell it to those who build the reactors. A rather… straightforward business, really.

The numbers are impressive, naturally. Revenue up, earnings soaring. But such things are fleeting. It is the long-term prospects that matter. The world is awakening to the potential of nuclear power. New reactors are being planned, built. And Cameco will be there, supplying the fuel. A silent partner in a potentially world-altering endeavor. Though, one cannot help but wonder… are we merely exchanging one set of anxieties for another? The atom, after all, is a rather… capricious mistress.

The Alchemist’s Workshop

And then there is Palantir (PLTR 1.03%). A company shrouded in mystery, a modern-day alchemist’s workshop. They deal in data, in algorithms, in the very fabric of information. They sell their services to governments, to corporations, to anyone who can afford to unlock the secrets hidden within their data streams.

Explaining what they actually do is a fool’s errand. Even those who work there struggle to articulate it. But the results speak for themselves. Revenue climbing, margins expanding, cash flowing. A veritable torrent of wealth. They claim to be building the future. Perhaps they are. Or perhaps they are merely refining the tools of control. It is a subtle distinction, and one that may not matter in the long run. Still, the numbers are… captivating. A 50% operating margin? One almost expects a visit from the tax inspector, or perhaps… something far more sinister.

The market, you see, is a grand illusion. A theater of dreams and delusions. But within that chaos, there are companies that endure. Companies that, despite the madness, continue to grow, to adapt, to thrive. These are the companies I choose. Not for a quick profit, but for a slow, steady accumulation of wealth. A wealth that, perhaps, will outlast us all.

2026-02-27 23:13

The Black Gold Still Flows

The Promise of Controlled Fire

The Alchemist’s Workshop

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