The premise, as presented, is that a return is possible by the year 2030. A decade. A curiously arbitrary endpoint, yet one we are compelled to consider, given the prevailing currents of speculation. The justification hinges on two factors, each more labyrinthine than the last.
These five, the most substantial of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ as they are rather fancifully termed, have matured beyond mere revenue accumulation. They have become, one might say, comfortably established, generating profits with an ease that invites both admiration and, perhaps, a degree of cautious scrutiny.
Originally, this marvel was to bear fruit by the year 2025. Alas, time, that relentless critic, has forced repeated postponements. One begins to suspect that the entire enterprise is a phantom, a magnificent delusion constructed to appease shareholders and distract from more pressing concerns. When the new steward, one Lip-Bu Tan, assumed command, whispers arose questioning whether these structures would ever see the light of day. He decreed that the ’14A’ process, a key to this foundry’s supposed success, would only proceed if external patrons—those willing to pay for Intel’s services—were secured. As of this moment, the target date for the first chips emerging from Ohio is a distant 2030 – a delay that smacks of desperation, or perhaps, a polite admission of difficulty.
ExxonMobil, a rather ostentatious offspring of Rockefeller’s dismantled empire, has dutifully increased its dividend for forty-three years. A predictable performance, naturally. The truly interesting companies are those that defy expectation, not confirm it.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a gentleman of substantial fortune must be in want of an investment. Such is the case with Mr. Michael Saylor, the proprietor of a most intriguing enterprise, known to many as Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), who has recently indulged in a most extravagant acquisition of no less than 22,305 … Read more
The point is this: someone has to generate all this power. And that, my friends, presents a rather interesting opportunity for those of us with a penchant for spotting a good investment. It’s not about the algorithms themselves, you see. It’s about the utterly mundane, yet utterly vital, business of keeping the lights on. So, let’s examine three companies poised to benefit from this… shall we say, ‘digital gluttony’.
It seems this Micron, you see, is a leading provider of these “high-bandwidth-memory” chips—a fancy name for something that helps those new-fangled “artificial intelligence” contraptions think a bit faster. And when everyone’s chasing the latest marvel, well, the folks who supply the parts are bound to do alright for themselves. It’s a simple equation, really. Demand’s gone up, and so have the returns for those who held on to their shares. Let’s have a look, shall we, at what a thousand dollars, invested ten years ago, would fetch you today.
The daily chart croons a bearish aria, reminiscent of a tragic opera’s climax. Having peaked at $97,939, the asset plummeted with the grace of a fallen angel into the $91,000 embrace, now flirting scandalously with support at $90,500-$91,000.
FactSet Research, a diligent collector of opinions, noted this preponderance of approval regarding Microsoft. A solitary dissenting voice, a single analyst who dared to suggest a ‘hold,’ has since been absorbed into the prevailing sentiment. One wonders what prompted the shift – a sudden epiphany, or merely a desire to avoid standing alone against the tide. It is a small drama, easily overlooked, yet indicative of a larger truth: conformity often triumphs over conviction.
The whispers started a while back. Microsoft’s Nadella, a man who knows a thing or two about shifting sands, declared SaaS “dead” not long ago. IDC chimed in, predicting a price war. The usual doomsayers. Cowork is just a preview, a glimpse of a future where software talks to itself, bypassing the messy business of human interaction. It’s efficient, maybe. But efficiency doesn’t always pay the bills.