The forecasts called for fifty-seven cents a share on sixteen-point-eight billion in sales for the last quarter. What Pfizer brought in was sixty-six cents on seventeen-point-six billion. A good harvest, by most measures. But the fields aren’t yielding as abundantly as they once did.
They had a quarter, apparently. A good one. Record revenue, $1.4 billion. Seventy percent year-over-year. It’s just… excessive. It’s like they’re trying to outdo everyone. Like revenue is some kind of competition. And the tenth successive quarter of accelerating growth? Who’s keeping track? It’s unsettling. They beat expectations, naturally. Wall Street was expecting $1.34 billion and they delivered $1.4. It’s like they’re deliberately trying to lower the bar, then dramatically clearing it. It’s manipulative, frankly.
Applied Digital is the landlord in this scenario, owning the real estate where the magic happens. They’ve been on a tear, up nearly 500% in the last year. That’s…a lot. It’s the kind of growth that makes you suspect they’re either geniuses or running a very sophisticated pyramid scheme. Revenue jumped 250% to $126.6 million. They’ve signed leases worth $16 billion. Which is great, until you realize building data centers is expensive. Like, “second mortgage on your house” expensive. They’re carrying over $2.6 billion in debt. They do have $1.9 billion in cash, which is…reassuring, I guess? It’s like being $50,000 in debt but having $40,000 in the bank. Still not ideal, but you can buy a decent used car.
Palantir’s core business revolves around the provision of data analytics platforms to both governmental and commercial entities. The company’s Gotham platform continues to benefit from increased demand within the defense and intelligence sectors, a trend likely sustained by current geopolitical dynamics. Concurrently, Foundry, Palantir’s commercial offering, is securing larger-scale deployments with prominent clients, including Walmart (WMT +2.23%) and Amazon (AMZN 2.17%).
The company’s promise rests upon the Tanbreez rare-earth project, a geological anomaly distinguished by its concentration of heavy rare-earth elements. This, it is claimed, positions Critical Metals to satisfy the burgeoning global demand for these substances – vital components in everything from the mundane circuitry of electronics to the ambitious engines of renewable energy and electric vehicles. The project, however, is not a singular entity, but a node within a complex network of agreements and joint ventures. A proposed processing facility in Saudi Arabia will absorb 25% of Tanbreez’s output, effectively creating a closed loop, a self-referential system reminiscent of the Library of Babel, where all possible combinations of elements are inevitably contained within its infinite shelves.
I propose, with a degree of detached curiosity, a consideration of The Trade Desk (TTD 6.49%). It is, at first glance, a thoroughly unremarkable concern, dealing as it does in the placement of advertisements – a trade generally associated with the shadier corners of commerce. Yet, it possesses a peculiar combination of growth and, dare one say, value, that warrants a closer inspection. Whether it will, in fact, double your money by the end of 2026 is, of course, a matter for the gods of speculation to decide. But the conditions, as they stand, are not entirely unfavourable.
But Palantir just dropped its quarterly numbers, and… well, let’s just say it wasn’t a polite cough. It was more of a full-throated roar. They beat expectations on pretty much everything, and are now predicting revenue growth that would make even the most optimistic venture capitalist raise an eyebrow. It’s like they’re actively trying to disprove the laws of financial gravity.
The filing dates back to February 2nd. Pilgrim Partners Asia trimmed its ETHA holdings during the fourth quarter. Sixteen point two million vanished into the ether, if you’ll pardon the expression. The ETF itself took a hit too – almost twenty million off the books, combining sales and the usual market dance. Numbers don’t lie, but they rarely tell the whole story. This one whispers of portfolio discipline.
One observes that Ms. Wood doesn’t merely invest; she rescues. She’s a modern-day Pygmalion, attempting to breathe life into ventures that have, shall we say, experienced a slight…cooling of enthusiasm. The market, that capricious mistress, has cast them aside, and our heroine gathers them up, convinced she can polish them to a shine. It’s a charming delusion, though one rarely rewarded by the cold logic of quarterly reports.
The cause, as reported, was the securing of contracts – a sum of $65 million, to be precise – for the design and delivery of simulators and training solutions. These are to be employed in the preparation of those who pilot and maintain the machines of war – the Chinooks, Blackhawks, and Hueys – and for the benefit, it is said, of both our nation and unnamed allied powers. One cannot help but reflect on the irony: we create instruments of destruction, then dedicate resources to preparing those who will wield them, and further resources to those who will repair them when they inevitably break. It is a cycle as old as humanity itself.