Rambling On A Monday Night -- May 10, 2021

The Tech Wreck

Sell in May; go away.

I think I've hit a wall.

I get a kick out of all the hand-wringing about "the tech wreck" today. 

Dividends.

FAANG.

• Facebook: 0%
• Apple: 0.69% -- might as well be 0%
• Amazon: 0%
• NFLX: 0%
• GOOG: 0%
• BRK-A / BRK-B: 0%

Overall US equity market dividend average, about 2%, I suppose. 

Warren Buffett has said this many times. Better to sell shares (capital gains) rather than collect dividends (for many reasons).

So, today? Simply folks taking their "dividends" from the FAANG stocks.

If there has been one thing that has disappointed me most about the FAANG companies this earnings season: these companies are reporting all-time record earnings -- and we're talking huge amounts of money. And none of these companies are rewarding shareholders with dividends, much less increased dividends. They announce buybacks -- yes, I understand the concept of buybacks -- theoretically, they sound great, in reality, a gimmick for the company, not much, if anything, for the investor. 

What good is a buyback if the market drops five percent, taking "everything" with it. 

Question: how are those announced buybacks helping you today. The Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ are all plunging, taking "Big Oil" with it.