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The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD +1.02%), launched back in 2004, is the granddaddy of them all. It democratized gold investing, allowing even the smallest speculator to participate in the age-old pursuit of shiny objects. A commendable achievement, though one wonders if it hasn’t simply turned a dignified pursuit into a vulgar scramble.

For some time, Mr. Ackman had allocated capital to Alphabet, a company once hailed as a harbinger of boundless innovation. The initial foray, acquiring shares of both Class A and Class C designations, represented a tentative acceptance of the prevailing narrative – that artificial intelligence would be the defining force of the coming decades. However, the act of reducing that position, by a substantial 86% for Class A shares and a more modest 2% for Class C, speaks volumes. It is the quiet withdrawal from a belief, a recognition that the promise of effortless returns, so readily advertised, rarely materializes without exacting a cost.

One might ask, what accounts for this shift? The technology itself, a promise of decentralized, cleaner energy, remains, in the long view, a reasonable wager. But the market’s gaze, ever restless, has settled upon a more immediate concern: the ability of these enterprises to translate ambition into tangible revenue. To move from blueprints and simulations to a functioning reality is a labor akin to coaxing life from barren soil.

They posted record numbers for Q2 of fiscal 2026 – a lovely accomplishment, really – but the analysts, those fussy critics, wanted more. More, more, more! It’s always more with them. Even promising a record year couldn’t save the stock price. It’s like trying to stop a runaway train with a feather duster.

The question wasn’t whether the stock was down – it was. Fifteen percent year to date. The question was whether this was a chance to buy, or a warning to walk. A discount, or a prelude to a deeper shade of red?

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were taking the usual beating, but the Dow… the Dow was just sort of sighing. It’s always the Dow. A bit like my Uncle Harold at family gatherings – stubbornly resistant to enthusiasm, and always a little dusty around the edges. The numbers, for the record, were something like this: Nasdaq down 2%, S&P 500 a little over 1%. The Dow? A gentle decline of 0.4%. It’s all relative, I suppose. My therapist keeps telling me that.

The paperwork, as always, is a marvel of bureaucratic obfuscation. Indirect sales via BFI Co. LLC, a controlled entity. It’s all very…layered. It reminded me of the time I tried to return a defective toaster oven to a store that had gone out of business three years prior. Lots of forms, no resolution. The company helpfully notes he still has a respectable pile left – 16,840 shares directly, 36,680 indirectly, totaling 53,520. Enough to keep a small country afloat, probably.

Recent hiccups haven’t helped. The delay of Cepheus-1-108Q – a machine with a name that feels like a villain in a science fiction comic – and a bit of a stumble in a government program have added to the woes. It’s a bit like promising a chocolate factory and delivering a slightly dented biscuit tin.

The reason for this exuberance, you see, is that semiconductors are rather like the oil of the modern age – essential building blocks for practically everything. From the motorcars we rattle about in, to the computing contraptions we tap away at, to those pocket telephones that seem to have glued themselves to everyone’s ear, and even the factories and data centers that keep the whole show running, almost everything relies on these little silicon chaps. Consequently, companies like Nvidia (NVDA 3.50%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 1.36%) have been making investors rather jolly indeed over the last three years. A most satisfactory state of affairs, wouldn’t you agree?