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Today’s quarterly report from UnitedHealth reads less like a ledger of figures and more like the melancholy verses of a poet lamenting lost glory. Revenue, though exceeding expectations ever so slightly at $111.62 billion against a forecast of $111.52 billion, could not mask the deeper wounds beneath. Earnings per share (EPS), reported at $4.08, fell far short of Wall Street’s anticipated $4.48—a chasm wide enough to swallow even the most optimistic investor’s hopes. And yet, what strikes one as truly tragic is not the present but the future; the insurer’s outlook for the year paints a picture of shadows lengthening over fields once bathed in sunlight.

The company’s earlier triumph was fleeting, eclipsed by whispers of a colossus in the form of a proposed acquisition—a monolithic merger with CyberArk Software, an Israeli firm renowned for its fortress-like identity management systems. The Wall Street Journal reports that Palo Alto, ever the glutton for growth, may yet pay a prodigious price, its balance sheet strained by the prospect of a valuation premium. Such transactions, cloaked in the rhetoric of progress, often mask the quiet despotism of stock dilution, where the interests of the many are subordinated to the appetites of the few.

Ah, but what peculiar machinations lie behind this descent? TMC, you see, is not your run-of-the-mill mining enterprise content to dig holes in the ground like some industrious mole. No, indeed! This plucky company fancies itself a pioneer of deep-sea treasure hunting, intent on extracting minerals from the ocean floor—a venture so audacious it would make even Long John Silver raise an eyebrow. Alas, the international community has begun to voice concerns about the environmental ramifications of such escapades, much to TMC’s chagrin.

Analysts thought SoFi would post $0.06 per share on $804.4 million in revenue. Instead, they posted $0.08 and pulled in $858.2 million. Well, technically, $854.9 million, if you want to get picky about it, which I do. But, who’s counting? So, here we are, with the stock soaring. And, let me guess, the people who were holding on to this stock, probably against their better judgment, are now celebrating as if they’ve won the lottery. Calm down, folks. Let’s think this through.

The dirty secret no one’s whispering? This company’s been trading at a P/E ratio that makes Silicon Valley VCs blush—35 times earnings, darling. And for what? A business that’s growing sales slower than my houseplants. Look, I love clean water as much as the next person who doesn’t want dysentery, but should we really be pricing this like the second coming of Tesla?

The root of this disquiet lies in the U.S. administration’s decision to ease export licensing for advanced semiconductors and their manufacturing apparatus to China. Such a move, while perhaps intended to smooth the path of trade negotiations, has cast a shadow over TMC’s grand ambitions. One cannot help but admire the company’s audacious vision—its seabed mining endeavors, so boldly conceived as a means to secure rare earth minerals for a nation eager to reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers. Yet, in the shifting tides of geopolitics, even the most steadfast of ventures may find their foundations unsettled.