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Lattice concocts these things called field-programmable gate arrays – FPGAs, for short. Sounds like a dreadful disease, doesn’t it? But they’re actually little silicon brains used in all sorts of gadgets. For years, they were mostly fiddling about in factories and automobiles, doing rather dull work. But then, something marvelous happened. The AI revolution arrived, and suddenly, these FPGAs were the most popular sweets in the candy store. They’re now essential for those enormous computer brains they’re building for data centers, and that, my friends, is where the real money is bubbling.

The company released its fourth-quarter earnings yesterday, and the results appear to have startled Wall Street. Not in a frightening way, mind you – more in the manner of a polite, but firm, correction of expectations. They exceeded forecasts, you see. A concept lost on some, but crucial to the proper functioning of the Guild of Alchemists and Venture Capitalists¹.

To consider a purchase at this juncture… it is to gamble with one’s soul. A sharp decline can be a gift, yes, for those with the fortitude – and the capital – to withstand further suffering. But to catch a falling knife is to risk not just a wound, but a dismemberment. The question, then, is not merely can one profit, but should one endure the torment of waiting for a salvation that may never arrive?

Analysts were expecting $6.96 a share in Q4, $11.6 billion in sales. Northrop coughed up $7.23 – “adjusted,” naturally – and $11.7 billion in revenue. Crushed it? Hardly. But enough to send the stock into a brief, manic orbit. GAAP earnings? A staggering $9.99 a share. NINE. NINETY-NINE. It’s a numbers game, folks, a rigged carnival, and we’re all just trying to keep our wallets from being completely emptied.

The true architecture of Chewy’s resilience, I posit, lies not in the brilliance of individual administrators, but in the relentless geometry of its Autoship program. Eighty-four percent of net sales flow through this automated current, a fact which, were one inclined to mysticism, might suggest a preordained destiny. It is a system of recurring revenue, a labyrinth of monthly deliveries, and within its predictable pathways, a certain security resides. In the third quarter, this stream expanded by 13.5%, exceeding the broader industry’s growth – a subtle, yet significant, divergence. The company expands its active customer base and the revenue generated per customer by approximately five percent each – a slow, inexorable accretion, like the growth of coral within a submerged city.

The observed appreciation appears predicated on a confluence of factors, primarily revised analyst sentiment and commentary from a key competitor. While the immediate catalyst is apparent, a sustained upward trajectory remains contingent upon broader macroeconomic conditions and the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry.

One of Aehr’s top customers – a being of considerable technological power, no doubt – has ordered several Aehr Sonoma test and burn-in systems, with delivery scheduled for the summer of 2026. Aehr, in a display of commendable discretion, hasn’t named this customer. They’ve merely described them as a “world-leading hyperscaler” and a “premier large-scale data center provider” who also designs high-performance AI accelerator chips. (Which sounds suspiciously like someone building a very large brain. But we digress.) This narrows the field of suspects down to a handful of companies capable of both housing enough servers to power a small country and designing the chips that make it all possible.

The assumption that U.S. defense contractors are the sole beneficiaries of this increased spending requires re-evaluation. While Lockheed Martin undoubtedly benefits from the prevailing climate, a more compelling opportunity lies in the accelerating re-armament policies of European nations, specifically Germany. To focus solely on the largest defense budget is to overlook a more dynamic and potentially lucrative growth story.

After months of bipartisan negotiation – which, let’s be honest, usually means everyone compromised until nobody’s truly happy – they’ve drafted some amendments. Will they pass? Who knows. But here’s the lowdown, because frankly, someone needs to translate this legislative jargon into something resembling English. Three things you absolutely need to know, before you put another penny into this delightful, chaotic world.