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Trading volume reached 44.4 million shares, which, statistically speaking, is a rather large number of shares. It’s approximately 71% above their three-month average of 26 million. SoundHound AI bravely ventured into the public markets in 2022, and has, thus far, maintained a growth rate of precisely 0%. (This is not necessarily a bad thing. Consider the rock. It has a growth rate of 0% and yet, it endures.)

For the common investor, the worker who squirrels away a few coins hoping to build something more than just another month’s rent, these ETFs represent a chance to claim a small piece of the American dream. But dreams, like these companies, require careful scrutiny. Both SCHA and ISCB seek to mirror the performance of the small-cap market, a realm often overlooked in favor of the grand, imposing structures of large-cap enterprises. Yet, it is within these smaller companies, these nimble workshops, that much of the real innovation, and indeed, the real struggle, occurs.

Nvidia previously indicated a substantial backlog exceeding $500 billion through 2026, predicated on demand for its Blackwell and Vera Rubin AI chips. Recent commentary suggests this figure was, if anything, conservative. The company now projects revenue of at least $1 trillion through 2027, a revision that, while impressive, necessitates careful consideration. The assertion that demand will “definitely” exceed this forecast, while potentially indicative of robust market dynamics, introduces a degree of uncertainty regarding Nvidia’s ability to manage supply chain constraints and maintain pricing power.

The current obsession is with orbital data centers. A million satellites, they say, for AI computing. It sounds utterly preposterous, frankly. A bit like attempting to build a ballroom on the moon. But then, people will try anything if they have enough money. Moonbase Alpha is the backup plan, of course. Just in case the satellites prove to be a trifle… inconvenient. One suspects a considerable amount of champagne will be involved in the planning stages.

Here’s the thing: the entire crypto market is currently experiencing a bit of a… moment. Geopolitical anxiety in the Middle East, which, honestly, no one predicted would be good for anything, has somehow turned crypto into a safe haven. It’s like everyone suddenly remembered it’s supposed to be a hedge against global uncertainty. Bitcoin is up 13% since everything started happening, while traditional assets are… well, let’s just say they’re having a conversation with their therapists.

Brenda, of course, framed it as a “flight to safety.” As if anyone views crypto as safe. Bitcoin, she explained, is now a “hedge against global uncertainty.” I pictured Bitcoin wearing a tiny hedge, pruning itself with miniature shears. The war in Iran, apparently, is good for Bitcoin. Which is a sentence I never thought I’d type. Stocks, meanwhile, are down. It’s all very… cyclical. Like my aunt’s insistence on re-gifting fruitcake.

The question isn’t whether Costco is a good company—it is. It’s a machine. A perfectly calibrated engine of bargain-hunting frenzy. The question is whether the market has already swallowed the whole damn thing, bone and all. We’re talking about a 125% jump. A compounded annual growth rate of 22%. That’s…ambitious. Like trying to ride a shopping cart down the 405 during rush hour.

Thus, the R2 is presented, a more modest conveyance, commencing at a price of fifty-seven thousand, nine hundred and ninety dollars for the performance model this very spring. A base model, they promise, at a mere forty-five thousand dollars, but alas! This grand pronouncement is relegated to the distant year of twenty-twenty-seven, a delay which doth raise the eyebrow of even the most patient shareholder. There shall also be a premium AWD version at $53,990 and a long-range RWD at $48,490. One wonders if the delay is due to a lack of actual production capacity, or simply a clever ruse to maintain the illusion of exclusivity.