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Meanwhile, Pure Storage, a company that arranges those same rectangles in slightly more complicated patterns, has been… merely progressing. A pedestrian performance, one might say, if one weren’t accustomed to the relentless pursuit of quarterly targets. Wall Street, that discerning body, now favors the latter. A curious preference, isn’t it? Perhaps they’ve finally realized that sustained growth is less about fleeting shortages and more about… well, actually providing something useful.

Enter Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia (NVDA +8.01%). And he’s saying this whole software sell-off is…illogical? Illogical! As if logic has ever been a consistent feature of the stock market. It’s a little like telling someone to remain calm while their parachute fails to open. Still, I’m listening. Because frankly, my portfolio could use a win.

But the price… that’s a different story. Down 38% in three months. Macro reasons, they say. The usual excuses. It smelled like a bargain. Or a trap. Five thousand dollars. Enough to get your fingers dirty, but not enough to ruin you. Was it a screaming buy? The question hung in the air, thick as cigarette smoke.

During the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, Buffett presented a historical comparison. It wasn’t a boast, but a blunt statement of fact. He posited a simple question: given $10,000 in 1942, would it yield greater returns in the stock market, or locked away in gold bullion? The year itself was deliberate; a time of widespread anxiety, when the urge to seek refuge in tangible assets was strong. It remains a recurring pattern in times of fear.

The question, then, is not whether Disney is currently experiencing a slight wobble, but where this behemoth of entertainment will find itself five years hence. Let us, with a degree of cautious optimism (and a healthy appreciation for the sheer improbability of predicting the future), attempt to discern a trajectory.

Janus Henderson anticipates volatility. A remarkably astute observation, as if volatility ever requires anticipation. It simply happens. Still, one must prepare. And few are better positioned to navigate a tempest than Berkshire Hathaway. Old Warren, bless his shrewd heart, has amassed a cash hoard that would make Croesus blush – some $382 billion, mostly tucked away in short-term Treasuries. A perfectly respectable, if somewhat dull, pastime. If the Federal Reserve maintains its current somnambulist approach to interest rates while long-term yields climb, Berkshire will continue to clip coupons with cheerful indifference. And should inflation, that perennial phantom, rear its head, Berkshire’s vast reserves will allow it to scoop up undervalued assets like a pelican with a particularly efficient beak.

To speak of ‘value’ is to invite a chorus of conflicting definitions. But let us be clear: true value lies not in the ephemeral promise of tomorrow’s headline, but in the sober assessment of today’s price. And so, we shall dissect these instruments, not with the breathless enthusiasm of a stock tout, but with the detached curiosity of a pathologist examining a particularly stubborn ailment.

I’ve been poking around these two myself, mostly because I’m tired of hearing Dale’s smug pronouncements. Both are cheap – a 0.09% expense ratio, which feels almost offensively reasonable in this economy. It’s like they’re daring you to find a reason to complain. IEMG, though, throws a little extra dividend your way (2.75% versus SPGM’s 1.89%). Not enough to retire on, but enough to maybe buy a slightly nicer brand of paper towels. Dale, of course, sees it as a sign of imminent riches.

Nvidia, having positioned itself rather cleverly at the heart of this technological flurry, has benefited handsomely. The company’s share price, a truly baroque ascent, now rests at a height that invites correction. Yet, the quarterly report due on February 25th looms, and the financial community, a notoriously excitable flock, awaits the pronouncements with the breathless anticipation usually reserved for a papal decree.