Corporate America Adds Fuel to the Stock Market Flame

May 12, 2025 • 1 minute, 4 second read

With trade deals lighting a fire under the stock market, corporate America is also bringing out some more fuel for the flames.

Corporate buybacks are on the rise – to all-time highs. In the past three months alone, companies have announced hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments to buy their own shares.

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Companies have plenty of options for what they do with their cash. By engaging in share buybacks, they’re effectively saying their own shares are the best game in town.

In reality, that’s rarely the case. A wise company would only buy back shares when they’re an extreme value.

As Andrew notes:

Today, share buybacks usually do two things. They increase earnings per share by reducing the total number of shares – not increasing earnings. And they usually help to offset the shares granted to executives. Neither of those is real growth in the underlying business.

Given this shell game, it’s clear that most companies buying back shares are signaling that they don’t know how to employ their cash better.

Can investors get good returns with companies buying back shares? Absolutely. But if it’s hollowing out the balance sheet, it’s creating riskier conditions as share prices rise higher.

Until that crisis hits, traders see buybacks as bullish.

-Addison

Ripple Effect

Corporate America Adds Fuel to the Stock Market Flame

Addison Wiggin

May 12, 2025 • 1 minute, 4 second read

With trade deals lighting a fire under the stock market, corporate America is also bringing out some more fuel for the flames.

Corporate buybacks are on the rise – to all-time highs. In the past three months alone, companies have announced hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments to buy their own shares.

Turn Your Images On

Companies have plenty of options for what they do with their cash. By engaging in share buybacks, they’re effectively saying their own shares are the best game in town.

In reality, that’s rarely the case. A wise company would only buy back shares when they’re an extreme value.

As Andrew notes:

Today, share buybacks usually do two things. They increase earnings per share by reducing the total number of shares – not increasing earnings. And they usually help to offset the shares granted to executives. Neither of those is real growth in the underlying business.

Given this shell game, it’s clear that most companies buying back shares are signaling that they don’t know how to employ their cash better.

Can investors get good returns with companies buying back shares? Absolutely. But if it’s hollowing out the balance sheet, it’s creating riskier conditions as share prices rise higher.

Until that crisis hits, traders see buybacks as bullish.

-Addison

Copper’s Clear Signal

August 17, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

Copper and resources are sending us a cleaner market signal than AI stocks.

Channeling Ludwig von Mises, we observe this morning that price is not just a number; it’s information. Price reflects what buyers and sellers collectively believe: demand, scarcity, fear, speculation, disappointment, future expectations and available supply.

When prices rise, and inventories fall at the same time, the message is usually straightforward: buyers need the stuff, and there is not enough of it.

Market Crash Insurance Is Cheap

August 14, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

A low VIX does not predict disaster. It measures complacency. A serial skeptic will read it as the calm before a storm. We shook off that feeling this morning and opted to pursue an opportunity instead.

Here goes:

A VIX reading below 15 means the market is not pricing in much near-term trouble, even though there are obvious risks still sitting in the room: Iran, oil prices, memory chip speculation, circular financing, high valuations, epic high concentrations, spiking long-term interest rates, a regime change at the Fed, a meltdown in Japan and a historic deficit and rising national debt.

Beware: Financial Innovation In AI

August 13, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

Money is not flowing in a clean, straight line from outside investors to productive businesses. The firms at the top are investing in and buying from each other.

Microsoft and OpenAI are the easiest examples to follow.

Microsoft says OpenAI has contracted to purchase an additional $250 billion in Azure services, while Microsoft continues to account for $13 billion in funding commitments to OpenAI as an investment.

Signs of a Late-Stage Bull Market

August 12, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

At this stage, it’s a stock picker’s market.

We expect space, robotics and some more visible tech startups to remain sources of speculation. After weakness in the first half of 2026, we’re also due for a strong rotation of capital into natural resources, precious metals, critical minerals and energy.