If you want to see the market's current identity crisis in a nutshell, look no further than this bizarre mashup of oil drillers, steel mills, and clinical-stage medical gambles. We have companies pretending to be tech, and tech companies suddenly becoming miners. This is stupid and here's why: everyone is running away from their core business.

I’ve covered the tech and finance intersection through multiple booms and busts. Every time a cycle turns ugly, we see the exact same playbook: mature industries buy a trendy label, and empty shell companies grasp for whatever buzzword is left in the discount bin. It’s the late-1990s dot-com pivot all over again.

Take Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US). The oil giant has been bleeding recently as WTI crude slipped back to the USD 70 range from its May highs. Sure, CEO Richard A. Jackson scooped up about USD 250,000 in shares in late June 2026, but the reality is they are painfully less diversified than Chevron or Exxon. They need oil to stay above USD 40 just to keep the lights on and the dividends flowing. Why aren't you moving faster to diversify?

Then there's Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF.US). The North American steel heavyweight reported a brutal USD 229 million net loss in Q1 2026. What’s their solution? Announcing a multi-year partnership with Palantir to bring AI to flat-rolled steel. Good luck with that. Slapping AI on a blast furnace won't change the fact that analysts are downgrading steel pricing and the stock has cratered over 20% in just a week following insider sales.

Over in biotech, we have Eloxx Pharmaceuticals (ELOX.US). They recently licensed out ZKN-013 to Almirall for rare skin diseases. It's a clinical-stage science project. Fine, we need medical breakthroughs, but it’s a long waiting game with no immediate revenues.

But here is where it gets truly absurd. HeartSciences (HSCS.US), an AI-ECG company, just announced a reverse-merger in late June 2026 with Fortitude Mining Holdings. Yes, an AI cardiology company is merging with a miner to trade under the ticker TUDE. I have covered tech for decades, and this is the kind of late-cycle madness that makes my head spin.

Not to be outdone, Aimei Health Technology (AFJK.US) is doing the SPAC pivot dance. Originally targeting biopharma, this shell company has been busy collecting Nasdaq non-compliance notices for late filings in early 2026. Now, out of nowhere, they are merging with United Hydrogen Group. From health to hydrogen in one desperate swing.

The lesson here? When the traditional cycle turns, cyclical companies grasp for buzzwords, and clinical shells pivot to whatever is trending. My view is simple: stay away from the identity crises.

This article does not constitute investment advice.