October 23, 2026
What You Need to Know Today:
SpaceX earnings prove that when it comes to AI companies you need to check where the revenue is coming from
Yesterday, after the close of trading, SpaceX (SPCX) reported a strong third quarter: revenue rose 161% to $14.58 billion, and net income reached $4.4 billion, reversing a roughly $1.05 billion loss a year earlier. Shares of SpaceX closed up in afterhours trading on Tuesday by 8.09% and were up 7.79% in todays regular trading session.
But…
… look carefully at where the revenue and profit came from.
SpaceX’s AI revenue from xAI’s sales almost tripled in the last three months, and the company’s AI unit posted $431 million of operating profit on the revenue. But the surge was driven by selling excess computing capacity to third parties, and not from sales of its main AI product Grok.
Meta’s capital spending comitments take down the stock and indeed the entire market today
Shares of Meta Platforms (META) fell 6.98% today Thursday, October 22. And they took the rest of the market down with them. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed off 1.21%. The NASDAQ Composite dropped 2.60%. By contrast the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat with a gain of 0.02%. Why did Meta move stocks today?
Is this what AI regulation will look like? Break it and then pay a $25 billion court judgment like META?
It’s no wonder that AI leaders have begun to lobby the Trump administration and Congress for some kind of light to imaginary regulation by the federal government that would prevent states from passing more stringent rules and winning big judgments against AI compoanies under existing laws.Seems juries of our peers aren’t all that fond of the way that AI CEOs are acting like they can simply decide what the world that we all have to live in should look like. I sense that visions of a replay of the huge tobacco industry payouts are dancing in AI CEO heads and starting to keep them up at night.The latest nightmare comes out of New Mexico.
SpaceX earnings prove that when it comes to AI companies you need to check where the revenue is coming from
Yesterday, after the close of trading, SpaceX (SPCX) reported a strong third quarter: revenue rose 161% to $14.58 billion, and net income reached $4.4 billion, reversing a roughly $1.05 billion loss a year earlier. Shares of SpaceX closed up in afterhours trading on Tuesday by 8.09% and were up 7.79% in todays regular trading session.
But…
… look carefully at where the revenue and profit came from.
SpaceX’s AI revenue from xAI’s sales almost tripled in the last three months, and the company’s AI unit posted $431 million of operating profit on the revenue. But the surge was driven by selling excess computing capacity to third parties, and not from sales of its main AI product Grok.
Rethinking risk; Part 2 of my new 5-part series on Investing in dividend stocks during a time of rising rates
I think it’s safe to say that we know what we want: a dividend stock with a near or better market yield now–let’s say 4.5%, the current yield on the 12-month Treasury–and with a track record of regularly raising dividends so that the stock has the possibility of keeping pace with rising interest rates and maybe even beating them in the next few years. Before I go looking for stocks like that in the next part of this series, let me tell you some of the pitfals in that search. These are the dangers or potential dangers that can make an attractive dividend stock play into a painful disaster.
Wall Street quickly moves to say today’s buy on the dip signals a rally through end of 2026
Don’t think for a minute that Wall Street ever misses a good chance to goad its customers into action.
So today’s buy on the dip bounce quickly became a marketing hook for encouraging customers to buy because we’re going to see a big end-of-the-year rally.
This market is just too damn expensive given the risks–Special Report 10 picks to stay (mostly) invested while cutting your risks
Could stocks move higher from here even though they’re more expensive than a year ago? Of course.
Could they gain another 29.8% in a year? It’s possible. But it strikes me as unlikely.
That sums up the current market puzzle very neatly, I think. Stocks are expensive and don’t seem to be pricing in potential very real risks. But stocks have returned almost 30% in the last year. And it’s very hard to walk away from the possibility of that kind of gain. Even if it is unlikely. What I’d suggest right now is a stock market strategy that takes into account both a solid appreciation of the excessive valuations in this market (along with a failure to price in risk), and the realities of investor psychology.
It is too difficult to go cold turkey on stocks right now and move 100% out of the market. On the other hand, you should be moving to reduce your exposure to the riskiest parts of the market–high multiple stocks–and raising your exposure to counter-cyclical or non-cyclical stocks. In this post, I’m going to give you 10 stock picks to use in executing that kind of strategy–a way to stay in the market and yet to reduce your risks.
Special Report: The Next Big Things and how to invest in them–Part 1 Quantum Computing; Part 2 Nuclear Fusion
A suggested quantum computing portfolio. If you want a piece of this Next Big Thing, but with less risk and less upside than a pure-play quantum stock, I’d suggest Alphabet/Google (GOOG). Among pure plays I’d include D‑Wave Quantum (QBTS), up about 235% year‑to‑date as of late 2025; Rigetti Computing (RGTI), up34% YTD by late December; and IonQ (IONQ), up around 25% year-to-date by late December.
Special Report: 3 Stock Market Bubbles: When will they burst? What to do now? Part 1, the AI bubble, Part 2, the debt market bubble, and Part 3, the cheap money bubble
This is a very difficult stock market. Even as stocks climb to new record highs. On the one hand, even investors who are all in, maybe even overweight to the long side, worry that this rally isn’t sustainable for much longer. By most historical standards valuations are off the charts. I get a steady stream of stories and posts asking whether XYZ stock has climbed to faro fast. Volatility on somedays can be downright scary with relatively minor events leading to big market moves. It’s simply very hard to stay on board this rally. On the other hand, it’s very hard to get off the train. I see lots of Wall Street analysts cutting recommendations from “buy” to “hold” on valuation fears, but I see almost no one saying “sell.” FOMO–fear of missing out–is just too strong. Which is totally understandable. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 25.02% in 2024 and was up another 18.11% in 2025 to date through October 27. Market leaders have racked up even bigger gains. AI chip icon Nvidia (NVDA) was up 171% in 2024 and has gained another 39% in 2025 through October 27. It’s insanely difficult to walk away from those kinds of gains. So what’d you do?
Special Report: How to invest in our 3 energy crises–First 8 picks JCI, BEPC, LNG, SMNEY, GNRC, CCJ, EQNR and GVE
You don’t need the Department of Energy or the Energy Information Administration to tell you we have an energy crisis. (Good thing since they’re shut down with the rest of the Federal government today.) All you need to do is look at your electricity bill. This summer monthly home electric bills jumped in Trenton, New Jersey, for a typical home by $26. In Philadelphia, it increased about $17. And in Columbus, Ohio, it spiked $27. And your monthly bill doesn’t capture the full damage. In California,residential electric rates are up 62% in five years. In Maryland residential rates are up 54% in five years. Most frustratingly–and most importantly for investors–those bills don’t explain the nature of the crisis.
Or more accurately “crises.” Because we’re the middle of three, overlapping and interlocking energy crises. That are playing out on different timeframes that range from NOW to the next 5 to 10 years. It’s that last point that’s critically important for investors. Because to make money–and let’s be clear: like in all crises there’s money to be made investing in these three crises–you’ve got to understand the nature of each crisis and buy into it at the right time. Not so early that you sell in disappointment because your profits haven’t arrived yet. Not so late that all themes tasty profits are gone. This Special Report is about untangling the 3 energy crises, giving you a timeline for investing in each, and then calling out 10 picks you cause to profit from theses crises. Ya, ready?
Special Report: “10 better dividend stocks for a dangerous market”–Part 1 with 6 sells, Part 2 first buy COLD
You remember what The Rolling Stones sing? “You can’t always get what you want”?
In this historically expensive market with a slowing economy, with a falling dollar and a climbing government deficit, where no one knows what the Trump tariffs regime we lookalike in 60 days, and where stagflation where inflation rises even as the economy’s growth rate slows I know what I want: some safe dividend stocks to take some of the risk out of my portfolio, with tasty 8% dividend yields, with solid financials and low debt, and with relatively low exposure to any downturn in the economic cycle. Is that too much to ask? Well, apparently, Yes. Because I can’t find any stocks that fit the bill. Stocks paying anywhere near that yield, for example, come with more rick than I want to take on in this market and this economy. Especially because the last thing I want to do is add high-risk, go-for-broke dividend stocks to the “safe” side of my portfolio. But the Stones go on to advise “but if you try sometimes, you’ll find/You get what you need.” And that’s what this Special Report “10 better dividend stocks for a dangerous market” is all about.
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