The S&P 500 barely budged—up 0.03% to 6,835—and the Nasdaq Composite dipped a little (0.22% to 22,547). Penn Entertainment, a competitor, wasn’t doing much better, down 5.24% to $11.76. It’s like watching a slow-motion domino rally of mild disappointment. You almost want to look away, but you can’t. You’ve invested emotional energy, and a small amount of capital, so you’re obligated to witness the inevitable.
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) barely nudged up, finishing at 6,836, a fractional gain. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) slipped a bit, to 22,547. The market’s a fickle dame. It gives with one hand and takes with the other. Cloudflare (NET +5.78%) and Akamai Technologies (AKAM +6.83%) also saw a lift. Investors are leaning into the AI traffic play. It’s a crowded room, but everyone thinks they have a seat at the table.
But let us not be deceived by mere numbers. The question is not simply whether the stock has risen, but why, and whether this ascent is founded upon something more substantial than a passing fancy. The answer, it seems, lies in a most unexpected alliance – a partnership with Nvidia. A deal, you see, has been struck, to create AI-RAN (radio access network) products, powered by Nvidia’s formidable GPUs. A most ingenious arrangement, to bind Nvidia to the very infrastructure of the cellular network, and grant Nokia a competitive edge in the optimization of these modern digital arteries – 5G, and, dare we say, the yet-unseen 6G.
No pronouncements of earthly riches from the company itself, no quarterly reports to fuel this ascent. Instead, a whisper from the digital ether – a blog post, penned by Microsoft (MSFT 0.16%) on Tuesday. A touting, if you will, of the possibilities inherent in superconductor technology for the ravenous appetites of their artificial intelligences. A strange dependency, this – to hinge one’s fate upon the pronouncements of another, especially when that other speaks of power and…consumption.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.05%) barely managed a twitch upwards, reaching 6,836, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.22%) suffered a slight, almost imperceptible slump to 22,547. Within the automotive sphere, Tesla (TSLA +0.09%) eked out a negligible gain, closing at $417.44. Lucid Group (LCID +3.68%), at $10.28, fared somewhat better, though still trailing Rivian’s more dramatic ascent. One begins to suspect a conspiracy of mediocrity, a silent agreement among these electric hopefuls to underperform expectations, thereby preserving the illusion of innovation.
The current enthusiasm for ‘growth’ stocks strikes me as a bit…fanciful. Chasing these elusive butterflies, as it were. Far more sensible, wouldn’t you agree, to seek out companies that actually produce something – or, failing that, at least distribute a portion of their earnings to shareholders? Dividends, you see, are a most agreeable form of income. A steady trickle, rather than a frantic scramble for a fleeting fortune.
The recent five percent uptick (as of this afternoon, naturally) is, of course, causing a certain amount of fluttering amongst the usual suspects. The proliferation of these spot ETFs and institutional vehicles means capital now flows in and out with a rather vulgar haste. One feels a proper market should have some dignity.
As of late afternoon, the shares are up by seven percent, a percentage that speaks more of cautious optimism than fervent conviction. One observes, with a certain detached amusement, the cyclical nature of these minor recoveries, the brief flares of hope in the long, grey twilight of the market.
They published their fourth-quarter results yesterday. Q4. The last quarter of the year. You’d think they’d try to make a good impression. Earnings per share? $0.61. Fine. Better than nothing. Sales at $359.99 million? Okay, whatever. They’re bragging about beating Wall Street’s targets by a measly $0.77 million? It’s insulting. It’s like saying, “We’re slightly less awful than you thought!” And then, the kicker. They had a year-over-year sales decline in Q4. A decline! And they’re acting like the record $1.46 billion in annual revenue somehow makes up for it? It’s like losing ten pounds but then eating an entire cheesecake. Doesn’t negate the loss, does it?
SoFi began, as these things often do, with a modest ambition: student loans. It has since metastasized into a “one-stop shop” for financial services, offering everything from mortgages to estate planning. A commendable breadth, perhaps, but one wonders if the modern consumer truly desires a single entity to manage their entire financial life. Still, the appeal to the younger generation – Millennials and Gen Z, those creatures of habit and impulse – is undeniable. They flock to convenience, and SoFi provides it, albeit at the cost of a certain… elegance. The acquisition of Galileo, a payment processor, and the establishment of a direct bank, are further steps in this relentless pursuit of ubiquity. At the end of 2025, they boasted 13.7 million members, a number which, while impressive, says more about the state of modern finance than about SoFi itself. Galileo, meanwhile, quietly hosts nearly 160 million accounts, a figure which suggests a degree of competence, if not inspiration.