Okay, they’re growing. Sales went from $85 million to nearly $169 million. That’s…fine. Almost double. Management is now projecting $225 to $260 million. They’re throwing numbers around like it means something. 33% to 50% growth. It’s not bad, I suppose, but it’s not exactly setting the world on fire, is it? And frankly, it’s the way they present it. So smug. “Rapid growth!” Yeah, rapid compared to what? A sloth?
ISCG, the more expansive of the two, casts a wide net, scooping up nearly a thousand companies. It’s a grand gesture, a claim to encompass the full spectrum of small-cap ambition. But breadth, without discernment, is a dangerous thing. It’s like opening the doors to everyone and hoping for the best – a recipe for chaos, and for the inevitable fall of those least prepared. IJT, by contrast, is more selective, drawing from the S&P SmallCap 600. It demands a degree of profitability, a sign that these companies aren’t simply chasing dreams, but are, at least, capable of sustaining themselves. It’s a small gatekeeper, a modest attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff.
The transaction, reported in a February filing, suggests a belief – perhaps a desperate hope – that Impinj possesses some latent virtue. The fund’s allocation – 2.33% of their reported assets – is not negligible. It hints at a thesis, though precisely what that thesis entails is, at this remove, rather obscure.
The recent dip, bringing the share price below the fifty-dollar mark, has prompted the usual chorus of analysts to declare it a ‘buying opportunity.’ A rather pedestrian phrase, wouldn’t you agree? It lacks a certain… theatricality. As if a stock were a stray dog, begging for a home. Still, the company does possess a certain stubborn durability, a quality I find increasingly rare in this age of fleeting trends and vaporous valuations.
The latest earnings report arrived on Thursday, a collection of numbers that, on the surface, appeared… adequate. Yet, the market, a fickle creature, did not reward them with enthusiasm. Instead, a slight decline. It’s a reminder, isn’t it, that even positive figures can feel… insufficient. Like a warm coat on a damp autumn day.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY +5.22%) is clearly a favorite of Mr. Buffett at the moment. He left a rather substantial $10.9 billion position in the company before retiring from Berkshire Hathaway – a bet that has, thankfully, proven rather astute. One wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of that particular transaction, would one?
A century has passed since Conagra first took root in the American landscape, its brands—Marie Callender’s, Healthy Choice, Duncan Hines—becoming fixtures in pantries and freezers. Yet, this longevity, once a source of strength, now feels like a form of institutional ossification. Over the past five years, the stock has surrendered nearly half its value, a silent testament to a misalignment with evolving consumer preferences. A modest uptick this year offers scant reassurance, merely a temporary reprieve from a deeper, more fundamental malaise.
We are presented with the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB 1.30%) and the iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT 1.32%). Both, in their earnest striving, offer access to the vast and often capricious American economic landscape. The distinction, my dear reader, is as subtle as the difference between a perfectly tailored waistcoat and one merely… adequate.
The filing spoke for itself. Aperture was done with Trex. Clean break. A quarter-end purge. Twenty-one million bucks gone to ground. It’s a simple story, really. An investor saw the writing on the weather-stained wood and decided to head for port.
Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise a soul if things took a bit of a tumble, a bit of a correction, as the chaps in the city like to call it. And when such a thing occurs, the sensible investor – the sort who likes a bit of security with his returns – will naturally gravitate towards the steady, reliable dividend-paying stocks. Two such establishments, looking particularly promising at the moment, are Energy Transfer and Digital Realty Trust. A bit of a safe harbor, you might say, in a rather choppy sea.