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The earnings report didn’t arrive until February, which always feels a bit like presenting the bill after everyone’s already left the party. But January, it turns out, was a month brimming with…well, let’s call them ‘developments’ in the oil patch. Two rather large geopolitical events, specifically, provided a bit of lift to most companies involved in extracting stuff from the ground. It’s a reminder that the price of petrol isn’t determined by supply and demand so much as by who’s currently having a disagreement with whom.

Yet, even in such a landscape, a stubborn bloom persists. The dividend, currently yielding a rather astonishing 15.7%, offers a glimmer of warmth against the prevailing frost. The question, then, is not merely whether this yield can be sustained, but whether, by the year 2026, IIPR might yet offer investors something more substantial – a genuine resurgence, a lifting of the spirits, a vindication of faith.

Now, I’m not usually one for predictions, because let’s be honest, the future is mostly just a series of increasingly panicked improvisations. But the numbers on Broadcom…they’re almost indecent. A $1.6 trillion market cap as of today. That means, if they manage to hit that magical $3 trillion mark, anyone who buys in now could see an 86% return. It’s not a guarantee, obviously. Nothing is. But it’s a significantly better gamble than my last attempt at competitive ferret breeding.

There’s this company, see. Called Alphabet. Sounds like a particularly dull school, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s more like a colossal, slightly grumpy beast, and I suspect it’ll be lumbering around for quite some time. It’s already swallowed a rather large chunk of the world, becoming frightfully rich in the process, and frankly, that’s usually a good sign. They recently bumped up against the four trillion dollar mark, then had a little wobble. Good. A bit of a shake-up keeps them honest… or at least, prevents them from getting too comfortable.

The big question hangin’ over this whole enchilada is: is this slowdown a temporary blip, a little indigestion from too much queso, or is it a sign of somethin’…structural? Like, is the foundation crackin’? Because a crackin’ foundation means fewer burritos sold, and fewer burritos sold means…well, you get the picture. It’s not good for the dividend.

Apple, they say, has been “incredibly successful.” A bland pronouncement. One might just as easily describe a particularly persistent fungus as “incredibly successful.” In the early years of this century, it was the iPod, a device for the conveyance of music, that propelled this company forward. Four hundred and fifty million of these little boxes were sold before they were…retired. As if they’d grown old and frail, and simply faded away. A curious thought, that machines possess a lifespan. Then, in 2007, came the iPhone. They claim it was a “single greatest” invention. A bold claim, considering the history of mankind is littered with inventions that, while not quite “greatest,” were at least…useful. It cemented Apple’s position, they say, as a “cultural icon.” As if culture were something one could simply acquire through clever marketing. The market, predictably, thrived. The iPhone now accounts for 59% of Apple’s revenue in the first quarter of their fiscal year 2026. A dependence, one might observe, that feels…precarious.

They’ve been posting ‘exceptionally strong revenue growth,’ which, in corporate speak, roughly translates to ‘we’ve managed to convince people to look at more advertisements.’ Management seems ‘bullish,’ a word that should be retired to a farm upstate. They’re suggesting ‘long-term prospects’ as if the long-term is something anyone can reliably predict. (It’s like trying to forecast the weather on Neptune. You can make educated guesses, but you’re probably going to be wrong.) And, shockingly, the stock trades at a ‘valuation’ that isn’t immediately catastrophic. A minor miracle, really.