They make money from these customers. Not much, per customer, at first. Four dollars and fifty cents. Then more. Thirteen forty. People are good at spending, you see. Especially when someone makes it easy. It’s a human condition. So it goes.
Broadcom (AVGO 4.00%) has, in recent periods, enjoyed a considerable ascent. A doubling of value in consecutive cycles, followed by a further substantial increase – these are not merely numbers, but symptoms. Symptoms of a system increasingly reliant on specialized computation, on the outsourcing of complexity. The recent modest retraction from peak valuation should not be mistaken for weakness; rather, it is a momentary pause before the inevitable acceleration. The true opportunity lies not in the price itself, but in the structural imperative driving demand.
Palantir’s fourth-quarter revenue reached $1.407 billion, representing a 70% year-over-year increase. This represents a positive inflection from the 63% growth observed in the preceding quarter. However, a disaggregated view reveals nuances. The U.S. segment continues to be the primary growth driver, with revenue increasing 93% year-over-year to $1.076 billion. Notably, U.S. commercial revenue exhibited particularly strong performance, increasing 137% year-over-year to $507 million. Growth in U.S. government revenue, while accelerating to 66% year-over-year, requires continued monitoring, particularly in light of prior deceleration.
Everyone’s talking about demand and growth potential. And the government’s throwing money at them. So, is now the time to pile in? It’s tempting. Very tempting. But then I remember my last “sure thing” investment. And the therapy bills. Sigh.
The inciting incident, as these things often are, was a pronouncement from the Oracle of Wall Street – or, more accurately, a KeyBanc analyst named Justin Patterson. He lowered his estimation of The Trade Desk’s future worth to a mere 40 gold pieces2, down from a previous 88. It’s worth noting that this still suggests a potential increase of 35%, but investors, it seems, preferred to focus on the dwindling pile rather than the distant glimmer of more.
PepsiCo, bless its heart, tries so very hard. It’s a bit like a slightly over-enthusiastic apprentice wizard attempting to summon a decent profit margin. It offers a dividend yield that, on the surface, looks a bit more generous than Coca-Cola’s. A shiny bauble to distract you from the fact that it’s been raising those payouts faster simply because it started from a lower base. Like building a tower on quicksand; you might get it higher faster, but you’re still building on quicksand.
Now, some folks get rattled by that. A 16% drop. Like the world is ending. It isn’t. It’s just money rearranging itself. Shopify, they did pretty well last year. Crushed it, they said. But past performance, as the lawyers are so fond of pointing out, is no guarantee of future results. A comforting thought, actually.
A most peculiar reversal, wouldn’t you agree? Gartner, it appears, presented a financial accounting most pleasing to the eye—a triumph, one might say. And yet, the pronouncements regarding future prospects proved a most unwelcome draught. The shares opened with a decline of over thirty percent, a precipitous drop that, by afternoon, had moderated to a mere twenty-one. A slight recovery, to be sure, but hardly a cause for celebration.
They dig for rare earths and lithium, mostly in Greenland. And the Department of the Interior announced they’re expanding something called “Project Vault.” It’s a stockpile, you see. For national defense. And, apparently, to keep American businesses from panicking if the supply of shiny things gets cut off. A sensible idea, I suppose. Though history suggests sensible ideas rarely win.
The thing is, it’s not like the whole crypto thing has just disappeared. It’s just… having a moment. A slightly prolonged moment. From 2020 to 2024, Coinbase’s revenue went up more than five times – a truly impressive number, until you remember the “crypto winter” of 2022-2023, which rather dampened the celebrations. Analysts are now predicting revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth of around 12% and 6% respectively between 2024 and 2027. It’s… cautiously optimistic, isn’t it? Like ordering a salad when you really want pizza.