Ford: A Decade Hence (Or, The Persistence of Pistons)

However, and this is where things get interesting, it hasn’t exactly set the market alight. A total return of 86% over the last decade (as of February 24th) is… respectable, in the same way a slightly damp squirrel is respectable. Compared to the S&P 500’s rather exuberant 300%, it’s more a gentle amble than a sprint. So, the question isn’t just where will Ford be in ten years, but what will it be, and will it still recognise itself?

Netflix Abandons Warner Bros. Pursuit: A Prudent Capital Allocation?

Netflix (NFLX) elected to terminate discussions following Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY) higher bid – reportedly $31 per share, exceeding Netflix’s offer of $27.75 – for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets, encompassing CNN, TBS, TNT, and associated studios. While a protracted bidding war might appear indicative of ambition, the decision to abstain, even after being granted an opportunity to counter, speaks to a calculated assessment of value and potential return on investment.

Of Markets and Men: A Season of Reckoning

She, this Wood, publishes daily a record of her transactions, a transparency that invites both admiration and scrutiny. And it is in these recent movements that one detects a pattern, a reaching for value amidst the prevailing uncertainty. She has, it seems, determined to add to her holdings in Amazon, Baidu, and Nu Holdings – companies each bearing its own burdens and promises. Let us consider these choices, not merely as trades, but as reflections of a larger reckoning.

Netflix: A Most Uncertain Pursuit

Indeed, the summer months witnessed a prosperity so pronounced, it bordered upon the imprudent. A doubling of its value within a twelvemonth, and a tripling within two years, is a circumstance which invariably invites a corrective measure. And corrective it has been, with a decline in recent weeks that has caused no little consternation amongst those who deemed its ascent perpetual. This downturn, however, is not merely a matter of profit and loss; it is a demonstration of the market’s delicate sensibilities, its aversion to anything resembling unchecked ambition.

MELI: The Panic & The Potential

Let’s break down the carnage, shall we? Because the numbers, when you actually look at them, tell a far more interesting story than the headline. Gross Merchandise Volume up 35%. Unique Active Buyers – a solid 24% increase. Total Payment Volume leaping 42%. Fintech Monthly Active Users up 27%. They’re building an ecosystem, a goddamn digital nation in Latin America, and the analysts are whining about a temporary dip in profitability. The sheer AUDACITY.

A Wager on Sparks and Steel

ESAB Welding Image

Seems these folks at TimesSquare, bless their ambitious hearts, decided to add a quarter of a million shares of ESAB to their collection. That’s a considerable pile of stock, enough to make a respectable blacksmith blush. It bumped ESAB up to a sliver—1.61%—of their whole portfolio. A pittance, you say? Perhaps. But consider this: these aren’t folks who throw money at just any shiny bauble. They’re lookin’ for somethin’ solid, somethin’ that’ll hold its weight when the winds of fortune shift.

Flying Machines & Fool’s Gold

This S4, it carries a pilot and four passengers, can travel a hundred miles on a charge, and reaches two hundred miles an hour. Faster than most of its rivals, like Archer Aviation’s Midnight. Now, Archer’s machine uses separate propellers for liftin’ and cruisin’, which is like tryin’ to run a race with one foot tied to an anchor. Joby’s S4, though, uses tilt-rotor propellers, switchin’ between liftin’ and movin’ like a clever critter. Makes a heap more sense, if you ask me, though it don’t necessarily make it cheaper.

Sky High Stakes: Joby, Boeing, and the eVTOL Game

Wisk, Joby, and Archer – three names, different angles. Archer’s playing the parts game, building for others. Wisk and Joby? They want the whole shebang – manufacturing, owning the iron, running the routes. A vertically integrated play. It’s a cleaner, if riskier, proposition. The kind that could either deliver a payout or leave you holding an empty bag.

D-Wave: A Liquidity Mirage

The company boasts a 179% increase in annual revenue, a 265% surge in gross profit, and an ending liquidity position exceeding $884 million. These figures, presented with a certain fanfare, initially suggest a trajectory of robust growth. However, such pronouncements must be subjected to rigorous scrutiny, lest we mistake shimmering surfaces for genuine substance. The accumulation of capital, while superficially reassuring, does not necessarily equate to sustainable economic health.