In ’24 alone, Berkshire shed about $134 billion in equities. Just dumped it. Apple, Bank of America, even Amazon took a haircut – a 77% trim on the latter in the fourth quarter. That’s not pruning, that’s a shearing. Meanwhile, the cash hoard grew. From $128.6 billion in ’22, it ballooned to that obscene $373.3 billion. It wasn’t just caution; it was a fortress being built, brick by slow, deliberate brick.
It is not merely a manufacturer of automobiles, but a constructor of dreams—and, more importantly, a curator of scarcity. The conventional wisdom dictates volume, a relentless pursuit of economies of scale. Ferrari operates under a different theorem. It understands that desire, like a well-tended flame, requires oxygen—and that oxygen is limitation. A forgotten text, De Rerum Scarcitate attributed to the Alexandrian scholar Philo Mechanicus, posited that true value resides not in abundance, but in the exquisite tension between longing and attainment. Ferrari, it seems, has internalized this ancient principle.
A judicious investor, however, isn’t swayed by such theatrical displays. He understands that these temporary lapses of faith present opportunities—a chance to acquire assets at prices that, while not precisely gifts, are at least…reasonable. And amongst the currently distressed progeny of the AI boom, one name, predictably, and yet still satisfyingly, rises above the fray.
Two entities currently dominate this particular domain of commerce. The first, Starbucks (SBUX 1.06%), presents itself as a ubiquitous “third place”—a refuge between the domestic sphere and the exigencies of labor. A curious ambition, given the inherent impermanence of all things. The second, Dutch Bros (BROS 1.81%), is a more recent apparition, a chain of drive-through establishments proliferating with a speed that recalls the spread of rumor. Each seeks to capture a larger share of this caffeinated devotion. The question, then, is not merely which stock to acquire, but which illusion to embrace.
Ripple, the entity behind XRP, appears to be attempting the construction of a financial services business, utilising the XRP Ledger as a sort of cryptographic scaffolding. A rather ambitious undertaking, one might observe, given the established and rather robust nature of existing financial institutions. Their recent acquisition of Hidden Road, for a sum exceeding a billion dollars, suggests a certain…determination. They now possess a brokerage clearing some three trillion dollars annually, all of which they intend to shunt onto the aforementioned ledger. Simultaneously, spot XRP exchange-traded funds have attracted a little over a billion dollars – a respectable sum, though hardly enough to trouble the larger players.
Such turbulence, while unsettling for the faint of heart, presents opportunities. A discerning investor, unburdened by panic, may acquire solid holdings at prices that, a few months ago, would have seemed almost quaint. History, after all, demonstrates a tedious tendency for recovery, even in the face of spectacular folly.
Microsoft, that behemoth of Redmond, has, in recent times, become something of a facilitator. A most peculiar role, really. Rather than attempting to build the entire clockwork mechanism of artificial intelligence itself – a task requiring resources that would bankrupt a small principality – it has instead chosen to rent out the workshop. It provides the tools, the space, the very air in which these digital contraptions are assembled. This, it seems, is a most profitable arrangement. Azure, its cloud division, hums with activity, a veritable hive of computational bees. In the last quarter, it swelled by 39%, a figure that would impress even the most hardened accountant. And yet, the market, in its infinite wisdom, seems to regard this progress with a shrug.
There are three currents that draw my attention to Rivian, like iron filings to a hidden magnet. First, the whisper of an affordable model, priced beneath the fifty-thousand mark. Tesla, in its early days, stirred the waters with the Model 3, a ripple that became a wave. One senses a similar potential here, a chance for broader access, for a widening of the circle. It is a simple thing, affordability, yet it holds a power that often escapes notice.
Walt Disney, meanwhile, lingers somewhat below its former heights. A decline, certainly. Yet, there is a quiet dignity in a stock that has known better days, a certain…resilience. The question, then, is not merely which will grow the most, but which will offer a return that acknowledges the simple passage of time, and the inherent disappointments within it.
It appears Oracle has just delivered a quarter that can only be described as ripping. Earnings per share and total revenue both shooting up by more than 20% year on year! Management assures us this hasn’t happened in fifteen years. A positively dazzling performance, and one that has understandably brightened the outlook.