Julian Dumoulin-Smith of Jefferies, a gentleman whose pronouncements clearly carry weight – or, at least, a considerable number of decimal places – has revised his opinion of the stock. He now suggests selling, a recommendation delivered with the sort of decisive finality one usually reserves for bad poetry. One suspects he finds the stock lacking in… imagination.
The year 2025, viewed from the vantage point of a fading optimism, proved to be a cruel teacher. Shares of GitLab, the cloud-based DevSecOps platform, surrendered a third of their value, a slow, agonizing descent mirroring the erosion of trust in the very foundations of the tech boom. It wasn’t a sudden collapse, not a dramatic implosion, but a gradual leaching of momentum, a subtle draining of the color from its once-vibrant chart. The market, of course, soared around it, a mocking chorus of success while GitLab listed, a wounded bird in a flock of eagles. The tariffs, they said, were the cause, the “Liberation Day” pronouncements echoing like a death knell. But the truth, as always, was more complex, a tapestry woven with threads of slowing growth, inflated expectations, and the unsettling realization that even innovation has its limits.
That aforementioned peer, Albermarle, a behemoth diversified across several chemical kingdoms, still maintains a significant, if somewhat diluted, stake in the lithium narrative. One observes, with a detached amusement, that even giants occasionally require a boost from the smaller, more agile players. The market, that fickle mistress, seems to be momentarily favoring the streamlined – a preference for the finely-cut gem over the sprawling, multifaceted one. Analysts, those oracles of questionable reliability, have begun to murmur more optimistically, with HSBC’s Ishan Jain performing a rather theatrical volte-face, upgrading his recommendation from a tepid ‘hold’ to a more enthusiastic ‘buy’.
This document, however, is not a simple recitation of quarterly earnings. It is, rather, a tentative cartography of the firm’s current disposition, a fragment recovered from the hypothetical ‘Codex Mercatorum’ – a compendium of financial entities and their ever-shifting fortunes.
U.S. equities generally decided they needed a sit-down on Tuesday, with selling pressure building up like a very impatient queue. The Dow, in its infinite wisdom, decided to lead the charge downwards, tumbling 870.74 points to 48,488.59. The Nasdaq Composite followed suit, dropping 561.06 points to 22,954.32, while the S&P 500 and NYSE Composite also joined the party, losing points with a sort of resigned sigh. It was, in short, a day where nobody won, which is statistically quite likely, actually.
These are not companies that innovate so much as they adapt. They do not seek to create needs, but to satisfy existing ones, and to do so at a price point that discourages resistance. Competition, in their respective sectors, is not so much defeated as quietly absorbed or rendered irrelevant. Coca-Cola doesn’t merely sell a beverage; it sells a habit. Costco and Walmart offer not simply goods, but a calculated convenience. It is a system, and systems, once established, are notoriously difficult to dismantle.
Amazon, a name now synonymous with the very act of commerce, and Hims & Hers Health, a younger, more audacious claimant to the affections of a digitally native generation, both present themselves as worthy of continued investment. Whether they truly merit such faith is a question demanding a more nuanced consideration than is typically afforded in the prevailing atmosphere of speculative enthusiasm.
monthly – a veritable flood of income, designed, no doubt, to encourage a life of comfortable idleness. They claim a yield of some 5.2%, a figure which, while not extravagant, is sufficient to maintain a modest establishment, or perhaps indulge in a particularly fine vintage.
Junaid Siddiqui of Truist Securities – a name which, one suspects, is merely a clever disguise for a committee of very serious accountants2 – lowered his price target on Commvault. He now believes the stock is worth $175 per share, a reduction of $35 from his previous estimation. A considerable sum, of course, though less than the cost of a decent goblin-forged filing cabinet. He did, however, maintain his ‘buy’ recommendation, which is a bit like advising someone to jump into a slightly chilly pond – not ideal, but not immediately life-threatening.
It appears Iamgold managed to wrestle 765,900 ounces of gold from the earth in the last cycle1. A respectable haul, particularly given the increasingly grumpy disposition of the earth itself. Production at their Essakane, Côté, and Westwood sites was, shall we say, enthusiastic. 117,300, 87,200, and 37,900 attributable ounces respectively. One wonders if they’re offering hazard pay to the gnomes responsible for the extraction.