--- title: "Fringe Assets and Flawed Excuses: Stop Blaming AI" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/295647518.md" description: "The fragmented macro environment has turned this asset group into a stark snapshot of market absurdity. While biotechs are cashing in on major approvals, struggling gig platforms are blaming AI for their failures, and leveraged ETFs remain pure casinos." datetime: "2026-08-12T10:13:42.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/295647518.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295647518.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/295647518.md) --- # Fringe Assets and Flawed Excuses: Stop Blaming AI I have seen my fair share of chaotic portfolios over the years, but looking at this bizarre collection of fading gig economy platforms, high-flying biotechs, speculative flying cars, and obscure financial derivatives is like staring at a Rorschach test for the back half of 2026. The macro environment's fragmentation means some of these companies are actually building the future, while others are just spinning their wheels, and a few are purely Wall Street casinos designed to harvest retail money. This is stupid and here's why. Let's start with the companies using artificial intelligence as a convenient scapegoat for their own fundamentally flawed business models. Fiverr (FVRR.US) just posted a brutally disappointing Q2 2026, with revenue shrinking **10%** to **USD 97.8M** and active buyers fleeing by over **21%**. The management's excuse? AI is cannibalizing low-value transactional work, so they are shifting to "higher-value projects." Give me a break. If your entire platform can be easily replaced by a language model, it means you never built a moat in the first place; you built a sandcastle. Good luck with that premium pivot—enterprise clients are not exactly stupid. On the flip side, we have companies actually shipping real solutions and making real money. Arvinas (ARVN.US) delivered a massive blow-out in Q2 with **USD 249.7M** in total revenue—largely thanks to milestone payments from giants like Pfizer—and generated a massive profit. Not to mention, they just secured a significant FDA approval for their PROTAC degrader and are sitting on over **USD 560M** in cash. In a biotech sector drowning in vaporware and empty promises, this is how you get it done. Meanwhile, the old-guard heavyweights are struggling with their own narratives. Sanofi (SNY.US) is raking in cash with its cash cow Dupixent crossing **EUR 5B** in quarterly sales, yet the stock took a hit recently. Why? Because their new CEO just axed a key eczema pipeline drug, and investors are rightfully terrified of the one-trick-pony syndrome. In this industry, resting on your laurels is chronic suicide. Why aren't you moving faster to diversify? Then we have the painful transition stories in traditional sectors. Commercial real estate service giant Newmark Group (NMRK.US) is facing a seismic shift as its CEO of over 40 years, Barry Gosin, steps down at the end of 2026. Despite pulling in over **USD 888M** in quarterly revenue, the market reacted poorly, sending the stock lower. Commercial real estate is a mess right now with empty office towers and elevated rates. Changing the guard at this exact moment might bring fresh ideas, but it is highly likely to invite prolonged instability. What about the moonshots? New Horizon Aircraft (HOVR.US) just inked a **USD 600M** letter of intent for 100 of its hybrid eVTOL aircraft. I’ve been hearing the flying car pitch for two decades, but at least they are pragmatic enough to use a hybrid gas-electric model because, let’s be honest, our battery charging infrastructure remains a joke. Having **CAD 78M** in cash is great, but a letter of intent is just paper until those planes are actually in the sky. In contrast, clean energy cogeneration firm Tecogen (TGEN.US) is simply absurd. They happily announced narrower Q1 losses but conveniently omitted their exact top-line revenue numbers. How do you report earnings without disclosing revenue? What exactly are you hiding? On the private-market front, NeuroBionics (NBIC.US) just raised a **USD 10M** seed round to tackle deep brain stimulation via blood vessels. Now that is the kind of bold ambition Silicon Valley used to have, instead of funding yet another boring B2B SaaS clone. Finally, we have the Wall Street casino. Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF (VGLT.US) is your incredibly boring but relatively grounded flight-to-safety vehicle, sitting on a solid **5.2%** 30-day SEC yield despite a price pullback this year. But YieldMax Universe Fund (YMAX.US)? It is down over the past year while chasing high income through complex options strategies. Chasing yield with derivatives? What could possibly go wrong? And don't even get me started on the MicroSectors U.S. Big Banks Index -3X (IWMI.US). If you are trading a triple-leveraged inverse bank ETN, you are not an investor—you are gambling on the next systemic banking collapse. Go to Vegas; at least the drinks are free. _This article does not constitute investment advice._ ### Related Stocks - [FVRR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FVRR.US.md) - [TGEN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TGEN.US.md) - [ARVN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARVN.US.md) - [HOVR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HOVR.US.md) - [NMRK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NMRK.US.md) - [SNY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNY.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Fiverr director Zohar Nir disposes of 4,982 common shares worth $43,841.6](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296394298.md) - [Sino Biopharma rebrands global operations under SBP Group identity](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296347598.md) - [Latigo Biotherapeutics files initial beneficial ownership statement for Sanofi](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295662614.md) - [11:55 ETSino Biopharmaceutical Limited stellt neue globale Marke SBP Group vor, um die internationale Expansion zu beschleunigen](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296378456.md) - [MacroGenics Q2 revenue misses estimates, posts profit on asset sale](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295839911.md)