This artificial intelligence and data mining specialist remains, admittedly, a divisive creature. But then, all truly interesting things are. To be universally admired is to be utterly unremarkable. Palantir, it seems, is gradually winning over the skeptics, though one suspects it cares little for their approval.
Now, silver did rather soar last year, climbing a most impressive 144%. This was largely due to a bit of geopolitical jitters surrounding President Trump and his, shall we say, forceful approach to trade. The tariffs themselves haven’t directly affected silver, being exempt for the moment, but the resulting uncertainty did give the dollar a bit of a fright, sending it down 9.25% in the last twelve months. A dashedly unsettling state of affairs, what!
The company, to its credit, has not remained passive. The return of Mr. Hemsley to the helm suggests a desire for stability, and the undertaking of an independent review of its processes indicates a willingness to address any perceived deficiencies. These actions, one hopes, will serve to restore confidence and, more importantly, to reinvigorate a trajectory of growth. Indeed, the foundations appear to be laid for a more favorable season.
The immediate catalyst, as reported, is an agreement with Leonard Green & Partners (LGP) to acquire the remaining shares for $7.00 each. This is not, strictly speaking, a surge, but a gravitation toward a pre-determined point. LGP, already possessing a significant two-thirds stake, effectively completes a circuit, bringing the entirety of Mister Car Wash under a single, if somewhat opaque, dominion. The enterprise value of $3.1 billion is, of course, an abstraction – a symbolic representation of accumulated assets and projected earnings, akin to the cartographic ambitions of empires long vanished.
BYD began, as so many fortunes do, with batteries—the very lifeblood of our modern age. But to remain merely a supplier is the fate of the industrious, not the ambitious. Thus, they ventured into the creation of automobiles, first powered by the antiquated combustion engine, then, with a touch more foresight, by electricity. A slow start, certainly, but a necessary prelude to the current surge. The year 2022 marked a turning point—a decisive rejection of the past, a bold embrace of the electric future. A pity so few recognized the drama unfolding.
Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Sandisk—these are not merely stocks, but nodes in a vast, interconnected network, each dependent on the others, and each subject to the whims of an algorithm that cares nothing for individual prosperity. They are, for the moment, my recommendations, though the very act of recommending feels… superfluous.
The oracles – analysts, we call them now, though ‘oracles’ feels more accurate given their success rate – predicted a mere $0.59 per share and $535.4 million in revenue. La-Z-Boy, with a flourish of numbers and a dash of optimistic accounting, delivered $0.61 and $541.6 million. A victory, of sorts. Though, as with most victories, a closer inspection reveals a landscape littered with caveats and the lingering scent of slightly-used spreadsheets.
It is curious, then, to observe a divergence amongst the oracles of Wall Street. Tom Lee, a man not unfamiliar with bullish pronouncements, now speaks of impending job losses, a rather grim prognosis. Dan Ives, conversely, sees a “golden buying opportunity,” a phrase that, after decades of market cycles, feels increasingly like a well-worn incantation. Which of these gentlemen, one wonders, possesses a clearer view through the algorithmic fog? The answer, as is so often the case, is likely less a matter of right or wrong, and more a question of temporal perspective.
They speak of ‘modest price fluctuation,’ ‘current income.’ Words for those who’ve never known real want. These funds aren’t about growth; they’re about preserving what little one has. VCSH, with its focus on corporate bonds, is a gamble on the strength of men who build empires while others lay the stones. BSV spreads the risk, a wider embrace of debt, government and corporate, a dilution of hope. It’s the difference between betting on a single strong back and spreading your weight across a crumbling wall.
