Yeah I guess you're right. The volatility makes them attractive for day-traders, especially on the penny market, but that same volatility makes them awful long-term investments

Legitimate safe investments don't try to be exciting or induce fomo. They're boring and reasonable because they can afford to be.

That's why I love mutual funds. Stable, low-risk, low-maintenance, and managed by someone who knows what they're doing (unlike me). I've gotten a pretty consistent 5% APY on those.

That's why that's the metric I use for "if I invest X amount, I can get Y yearly dividends" calculations. For example, if I had a million dollars invested I could reliably get $50k+ in annual dividends. A modest retirement income, with room for growth.