That we even need to put "believe it or not" in front of this is an indictment of our age. The digital age has accelerated our obsession with metrics as the only measure of value, so yes, this is the existential crisis facing humanity.

This is an excellent case study of how corporations "do it" and thanks for all the detailed research, with many interested threads to follow.

That any investor will tolerate a P/E of 31 from a company with billions socked in the bank is strange. Then when their tolerance does grow thin, they simply shuffle their cash into the housing market for equally catastrophic results.