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Intuitive Surgical’s strength isn’t merely in the steel and circuits of its robots, but in the ecosystem it has built. Over eleven thousand da Vinci units stand as monuments to this success. Yet, the true revenue isn’t in the initial sale, but in the ongoing nurture – the instruments, the services, the steady replenishment that resembles, more than anything, the rhythm of life itself. A substantial 75% of their income flows from this continuous care, a quiet annuity woven into the fabric of modern medicine.

Japan, it seems, is offering a substantial contribution to this endeavor – thirty-six billion dollars, to be exact. A sum large enough to make even the most seasoned accountant blink, and to perhaps, briefly, convince him that order exists in the universe. This is merely the opening gambit, a prelude to a larger scheme involving some five hundred and fifty billion dollars. One suspects, however, that much of that figure will vanish into the bureaucratic ether, like smoke from a poorly maintained samovar.

A considerable sum, wouldn’t you agree? One might suspect the well is running dry. But, no. The thing about wells is they often have unexpected springs. While some of these ‘AI’ stocks are priced as if they’ve already solved the problem of consciousness (and, frankly, good luck with that), there remain opportunities. Companies that haven’t yet asked for a king’s ransom, but are nonetheless positioned to benefit from this… digital efflorescence.

The stock, naturally, has responded with a vigor that would make even the most seasoned speculator blush. A 124% ascent over the past year. It now occupies a rather prominent position within the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rubbing shoulders with titans and, one suspects, casting a long shadow over those less… robust. The whispers amongst the traders suggest a new kind of alchemy – turning silicon and steel into gold. A rather vulgar transformation, if you ask me, but undeniably effective.

I find myself, as the days shorten, contemplating a position in Energy Transfer. It’s not a matter of enthusiasm, you understand. Enthusiasm is for younger men. It’s a calculation, a quiet assessment of probabilities. This March, I intend to add to my holdings, if the numbers continue to permit. There’s a certain… solidity to the enterprise, a sense of things continuing, even when one might wish they wouldn’t.

The whole thing is just…complicated. They call it “not gambling,” which is a technicality, and a ridiculous one. It’s betting with extra steps. And now the real gambling companies are upset? Oh, the humanity. They’re complaining it’s not “regulated enough?” Please. They’re upset someone else is getting a piece of the pie. It’s just… infuriatingly transparent. They want a monopoly on our bad decisions.

Let us, therefore, have a look at the latest acquisitions, shall we? Three companies have caught her discerning eye, and one suspects a good deal of careful calculation – or perhaps a particularly persuasive sales pitch – went into these decisions. It’s all frightfully interesting, you know.

Here are two stocks. They might do okay for the next ten years. Maybe.

Thus, we turn our attention from the readily apparent—the gleaming hardware—to the more subtle conduits. One might dismiss BigBear.ai (BBAI 4.34%) as a specialist concern, a purveyor of solutions for a narrow, well-defined domain. Their ‘TrueFace’ system, a digital Cerberus scanning for known visages, and ‘ConductorOS,’ a guardian of remote communications, are not without merit. The claim of 99.1% accuracy against a database of twelve million identities, achieved in a mere two milliseconds, is…intriguing. One imagines a library of faces, constantly updated, mirroring the infinite possibilities of human expression. But such precision, while admirable, is a localized phenomenon, a solution confined to the boundaries of security and defense. The U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community, naturally, are its primary patrons.