[throwaway2016a]

Aside from the implication in the article (that this activity skewed the company's profits) is this normal for companies?

If so, if I am a investor in such a company (hypothetical, I'm not an investor) would I be concerned that the company is taking market risks with their money instead of investing in things like marketing and R&D?

I mean, clearly it works for them (so far) but any investment is risky. As an investor I would assume that if I wanted to invest in the market I would have put it in a full-time hedge fund or wealth management company.