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The fourth quarter of 2025, it seems, was perfectly adequate. Sales of $13.7 billion – a smidge above the anticipated $13.39 billion – and adjusted earnings per share of $0.15, exceeding the paltry $0.08 expectation. Quite. But the first quarter of 2026? A projected revenue range of $11.7 to $12.7 billion, and earnings…well, a rather stark zero. Analysts, naturally, were hoping for $12.55 billion and a measly five cents per share. One begins to suspect someone hasn’t been paying attention to the ledger.

The Wall Street cognoscenti speak of the S&P 500 as “the market,” a shorthand that obscures a fundamental truth: it is a curated selection, a committee’s judgment rendered in ticker symbols. It is not an organic growth, but a deliberate architecture. The intent, ostensibly, is to capture the broad contours of American economic activity. But the selection process, and the weighting of its constituents, introduces biases, vulnerabilities, and a concentration of power that demands closer scrutiny.

I underestimated a subtle, yet pervasive force, a contagion of belief. It is a phenomenon not entirely divorced from the fever dreams of humanity, and it demands consideration. The market, after all, is not a ledger of cold calculation, but a collective delirium.

The current expectation, and a reasonably assured one at that, is that TSMC will maintain its trajectory. The prevailing winds, if one may employ a meteorological analogy, are decidedly in its favor. These winds, of course, originate from the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence – a domain of immense potential, and one that demands ever-increasing computational power. It is a force, one suspects, that will not easily be contained.

It is not a romantic vision, this reliance on the atom. It is, however, a practical one. Nuclear plants, unlike their renewable counterparts, generate electricity consistently. They require less land, and produce fewer emissions than fossil fuels. That large corporations – Microsoft, Alphabet – are entering into agreements with energy providers to secure nuclear power is not a sign of environmental zealotry, but of calculated self-interest. The U.S. government’s stated ambition to triple nuclear output by 2050 is equally devoid of sentiment; it is a recognition of necessity.

This Meta, you see, is one of those “Magnificent Seven” stocks they chatter about. Though “magnificent” feels a bit strong. A year ago, it wasn’t exactly climbin’ the peaks. Flat as a pancake, it was, while others were doin’ a jig. Seems the market forgot it for a spell. But Wall Street has a short memory, like a goldfish with a trust fund.

This TRAN Capital, they bought a heap of SPS Commerce shares, some 147,591 of ’em, back when the market was feelin’ generous. Spent a cool $15.37 million, they did. Then, quicker than you can say “market correction,” they up and sold the whole kit and kaboodle. Just like that. A fella might wonder what brought on such a sudden change of heart, but these Wall Street types, they operate on a logic all their own.

Argan, a constructor of power facilities, engages in the intricate dance of engineering, procurement, and construction, a realm often overlooked amidst the fanfare of technological innovation. Yet, it is in these pragmatic endeavors that true wealth is built, not through fleeting speculation, but through the tangible creation of enduring value. The company’s focus is singularly upon the power industry, a concentration that, while carrying its own inherent risks, also fosters a depth of expertise rarely found in more diversified enterprises.

The earnings reports, those meticulously crafted pronouncements of success or failure, have proven to be… unreliable narrators. The company, despite its best efforts, has stumbled, missing its own ambitious targets and those set by the ever-demanding market. And yet, even when presenting reports that might generously be described as “adequate,” the stock has merely… sighed. It is as if the market, a capricious and easily bored deity, has decided to play a game of indifference.