Costco has, indeed, proven generous to its shareholders. A steady climb, a respectable return. But let us not confuse performance with magic. The siren song of a stock split is precisely that – a song, alluring but ultimately hollow. It’s a conjurer’s trick, diverting attention from the true engines of prosperity. A bit of accounting sleight of hand, nothing more.
The chronicles of MercadoLibre, as reconstructed from fragmented reports and analyst pronouncements, reveal a trajectory not merely of ascent, but of multiplication. It began, as so many things do, with the simple exchange of goods – a digital bazaar, if you will. But its ambition, it seems, is not confined to the mere facilitation of commerce. It aspires, according to certain whispers within the financial academies of Buenos Aires, to become a foundational layer of economic life in Latin America – a digital nervous system, if you will.
A circumstance, therefore, demanding a considered response. Is this a moment for judicious investment, or a signal to maintain a prudent distance?
They’re undergoing a transition, naturally. A new CEO, arriving in May 2025, which is roughly equivalent to a wizard taking over the accounts department at Unseen University. Things are…shifting. But the core business – the bit where they handle the flow of premiums and, eventually, pay out for things going wrong – remains stubbornly intact. Still, there are enough question marks hanging about like lost souls that a cautious investor might consider a brief pause before committing their gold… or, you know, dollars.
Scheduled for January 29th is a “Special Meeting” of shareholders. Special usually means someone needs something. In this case, it’s permission to issue more shares. More shares. The lifeblood of a company, or a slow drip to keep the patient alive just a little longer. Marsh will be making his case. A plea, really.
They’re not flashy. They don’t have the marketing budget of a small country. But they are building something genuinely useful, and their stock (RZLV +2.08%) has quietly soared over 30% this year. Which, let’s be honest, is a far better return than most of my dating life. They specialize in what’s called ‘agentic AI’ – basically, AI that can actually do things for retailers, not just generate pretty pictures. And it’s working. Really working.
Throughout the year, quarterly reports arrived, each a meticulously crafted document detailing the accumulation of coin – a process as natural to a bank as breathing, and almost as uninteresting. Yet, these reports, when viewed through the correct spectacles – those smudged with the dust of value investing and a healthy skepticism – revealed a consistency. The bank not only improved its revenue, but did so with a quiet, almost apologetic efficiency, consistently exceeding the expectations of those analysts who, one suspects, spend more time staring at flickering screens than understanding the true weight of capital.
The current fixation centers, predictably, on ‘artificial intelligence.’ A vast, nebulous concept, it serves as a convenient justification for investment, a shimmering mirage promising returns in exchange for capital. The following are presented not as recommendations, but as case studies in the mechanics of hope—and the subtle, inevitable disappointments that lie within.
But fear not! Even in these somewhat turbulent waters, there are still stocks that offer a dependable income, a sort of financial cushion, if you will. And what’s more, they do so with a yield that puts the market average to shame. Two particularly promising specimens, both offering a dividend payout considerably more generous than the S&P 500’s modest 1.1%, are AbbVie (ABBV +1.22%) and Coca-Cola (KO 0.11%). A truly agreeable pair, wouldn’t you say?
The thing is, nobody on Wall Street seems to be paying attention to NVE. Which, in a way, is comforting. It means there aren’t a bunch of perfectly coiffed analysts arguing about discounted cash flows and synergy potential. Just a quiet little pop, and me, trying to make sense of it all. It’s hard to say if they “beat” earnings when nobody’s even keeping score. Objectively, though, things weren’t terrible.