And so, as is often the case when a broad market index moves steadily upwards, there are always a few bold performers that steal the show. In September, we saw the usual suspects-companies that, with a little nudge here and there, manage to turn the world upside down. Enter stage left: Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD), AppLovin (APP), and Western Digital (WDC). Let’s take a quick wander through this odd little parade.
The catalyst? A little good news from a recent acquisition: Ambry Genetics, the California-based genetic testing company Tempus picked up back in February. Ambry decided to drop a bombshell with its announcement this week: a major update to its cancer risk assessment platform, the CARE Program. This little tweak integrates breast density data into the Tyrer-Cuzick tool for more accurate breast cancer risk assessments. A move that could mean life or death, depending on which side of the betting table you’re sitting on.
The fintech superstar is a lot more than meme trades today. It serves a large and growing consumer base with an increasing array of services, and it has a lot more up its sleeve. But can it keep this up during the next three years? Let\’s see what might be happening at Robinhood in 2028.
Realty Income’s business model hinges on long-term tenant relationships and predictable cash flows. Its triple net lease structure transfers operational burdens to tenants, while its diversified tenant base mitigates concentration risk. The company’s historical resilience-maintaining occupancy rates above 96% since 1994-suggests a robust foundation. However, its reliance on recession-resistant retailers may limit growth in evolving market conditions.
High yields tempt. But temptations often have teeth. A dividend cut? That’s a double loss: income gone, value lost. So it goes.
AGNC Investment (AGNC) is a mortgage REIT, which is to real estate as a spreadsheet is to a party. It doesn’t own houses; it owns mortgage-backed securities. Great if you enjoy watching spreadsheets sleep. Now, here’s the rub: High rates dry up mortgages like a drought in the Sahara. But falling rates? That’s the rainstorm everyone’s been waiting for. Suddenly, AGNC isn’t just a dusty ledger-it’s a kid with a piggy bank full of new investments. And since it borrows money to buy those mortgages (a practice I personally refer to as “leverage”), lower rates mean cheaper debt. That’s like getting a discount on your ex’s rent. The spread between what it earns and what it pays? That’s the margin you want to widen before the next coffee price hike.
Let us dissect this creature of silicon and speculation with the precision of a coroner examining a particularly perplexing corpse.
Yet what of OxyChem, that chemical alchemist whose caustic soda and PVC pipes perfume the world? For $9.7 billion, Berkshire dons the mantle of savior, acquiring this “profitable” jewel. A sum not unlike the price of Lubrizol in 2011-ah, the sweet serendipity of repeating oneself! OxyChem’s “step-change in profitability,” they say, as if alchemy were a science and not a gamble dressed in spreadsheets.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s examine two contenders who might just rocket into the stratosphere-or crash into the ground with a thud. Buckle up.
Two such entities emerge from the chaos: Tractor Supply (TSCO), custodian of rural America’s quiet resilience, and Kroger (KR), steward of the grocery cart’s sacred duty. One sells the tools of subsistence; the other, the sustenance itself. Together, they form a diadem of dependability in a world where even the moon might forget to rise.