Amazon (AMZN) isn’t just selling you books anymore—it’s selling you algorithms. While its online stores and third-party sellers still dominate revenue, the real magic happens in AWS, where AI is the glitter glue holding the whole shebang together. Management’s $100 billion CAPEX splurge in 2025? Less a budget line and more a love letter to silicon.
AbbVie (ABBV) isn’t just a Dividend Champion; it’s a Dividend King. Because why stop at 25 years when you can stretch it to 53? Its 3.39% yield is as comforting as a warm blanket made of shareholder expectations—and just as likely to catch fire. I’m keeping an eye on it because nothing excites me more than potential tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. President Trump’s latest threat to turn drugmakers into fiscal piñatas? Let’s just say it’s the kind of chaos I’d bet on a roulette wheel with three extra zeros.
But the question hangs like a fog—does this upheaval represent an opportunity, a crack in the seemingly impenetrable wall of an AI venture promising progress, or merely a reflection of the inexorable decay lurking beneath the veneer of innovation? The market, that labyrinthine and capricious beast, often whispers promises of redemption only to drown them swiftly in the deafening noise of chaos.
There’s this nagging feeling, isn’t there? That you’ve missed the boat. That everyone else is already several stops ahead on the crypto-train, and you’re dithering on the platform with a lukewarm coffee and a growing sense of panic. You read about the price increases, and think, “Oh, it’s too late now,” which is precisely what I thought about yoga. And organic food. And basic financial literacy. But maybe, just maybe, it isn’t.
For the weary investor, the cycle is a cruel jest. What was once deemed safe now flickers, and what was cast aside now beckons. In this maelstrom, Vici Properties (VICI) emerges—not as a fleeting trend, but as a relic of enduring structure. A REIT that owns the bones of casinos and entertainment halls, it stands as a testament to the quiet tenacity of those who navigate the labyrinth of capital.
Is this the golden goose of AI, or are we about to make a colossal social blunder by buying in? Let’s dissect this like a bad waiter’s explanation of why the soup was cold.
Last quarter, revenue soared 151% to $29 million, with projections pegging it at $167 million for 2025. And there’s a $1.2 billion backlog waiting in the wings. In this cutthroat game, such figures are as intoxicating as a moonlit speakeasy.
Merck, a name spoken with a respect bordering on reverence in the pharmaceutical corridors, has, for fifteen years without interruption, witnessed the quiet blooming of its dividend, a dependable rhythm in a world increasingly given to chaotic fluctuations. Yet, the past is not without its shadows. Before this current streak, an unsettling pause, a stillness that felt like a held breath, preceded it, even as its rival, Pfizer, dared to sever its own promise. To increase perpetually is a dream, of course, but to avoid the blade – that is a victory worthy of contemplation.
Before us stands Target (TGT), a titan of retail, now humbled by a 61% fall from its 2021 peak. Theft and tepid same-store sales have marred its once-proud facade. Yet, beneath the surface, resilience persists. Last year, it clawed $4 billion in net profit from $105 billion in revenue.
Now, if you’ve got exactly $100 to invest and a death wish for your portfolio, here are two industrial stocks that might make you feel like a genius… or a fool who forgot to check the fine print.