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It’s an ETF, which is just a fancy way of saying a basket of stocks. They trade like a single stock, which is convenient. The world is obsessed with convenience, as if it will somehow stave off the void. It won’t.

Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT +3.42%), a particularly ambitious alchemist in this digital gold rush, has decided to take a different tack. While most are building bigger and more complicated spellbooks – sorry, computers – they’re focusing on what they describe as ‘imminent solutions’. In other words, things that might actually generate revenue before the heat death of the universe. They’re peddling quantum semiconductors – thin-film lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits, to be precise – and the software to make the whole contraption whirr and click. Apparently, it’s all very flexible and applicable to high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.¹

This, naturally, sent the share price soaring. Five years ago, a handful of pennies, now a proper mountain of money. But recently, things have been a bit… wobbly. Investors, those fussy folk with their noses in the numbers, started getting twitchy. They worried the AI pie might not be as big as everyone thought, and that these AI companies were inflating like overripe balloons. Any little sniffle from the market, any tiny bit of bad news, sent shivers through Nvidia’s share price.

For those unfamiliar with these constructed realities, an ETF – Exchange Traded Fund – is a convenient fiction. A bundle of promises, traded as a single unit, simplifying the complex calculus of individual stock selection. The VUG, specifically, concentrates its energies on companies exhibiting a pronounced tendency toward growth – a restless striving that, like all motion, implies both promise and peril. Its performance over the last decade, as meticulously recorded by the custodians of these numerical labyrinths, is a matter of some interest.

For a considerable stretch after its IPO, Lemonade’s share price performed with the enthusiasm of a sloth contemplating a marathon. From February 2021 to February 2025, it shed a rather alarming 80% of its value. One began to suspect the market had decided that a ‘beloved’ insurance experience was a bit of a niche demand. It’s a funny thing, insurance. People only really think about it when something goes horribly wrong, and then they mostly just want it to work, not necessarily to be…charming.

They focus on small and medium-sized businesses – SMBs, as the analysts call them. Which, frankly, sounds like a disease. But it’s smart. Everyone’s chasing the big fish, leaving the little ones floundering. DigitalOcean offers them, you know, actual service. Not automated menus and hold music. And they’re doing something clever with AI. Not the scary, world-domination kind, but the kind that might actually help a small business, say, sort through invoices. Or, you know, not go bankrupt.

Wall Street’s thrown a bit of a tantrum after the last earnings report. Apparently, Amazon’s decided to spend a lot of money. Like, enough to make even Jeff Bezos wince. They’re talking about burning through free cash flow in 2026. Which, naturally, sends everyone into a frenzy. It’s always the money, isn’t it? Always.

Will the fields lie fallow in ’26? Nobody can say with certainty. The land yields what it will, and the market is much the same. But downturns are as natural as the seasons. A wise farmer doesn’t ignore the storm clouds; he prepares for them. And a careful investor, a man who seeks the steady yield, does the same. There’s one thing, above all, to consider when the winds begin to howl.