diff --git a/src/cache/store.zig b/src/cache/store.zig
index 22845ee..0668952 100644
--- a/src/cache/store.zig
+++ b/src/cache/store.zig
@@ -1408,13 +1408,28 @@ pub const Store = struct {
         /// (SRF returns FieldNotFoundOnFieldWithoutDefaultValue).
         /// `readCandleMeta` swallows the error and returns null,
         /// making the symbol look like a cache miss - `getCandles`
-        /// then triggers a fresh fetch via `populateAllFromTiingo`,
+        /// then triggers a fresh fetch via `refetchFullHistory`,
         /// which writes a new meta file with the provider explicit.
         /// The wipe happens naturally on first use post-upgrade.
+        ///
+        /// This is also why no *other* field on this struct may be
+        /// default-less: that cold-start path is the destructive one.
+        /// It writes a negative-cache marker over `candles_daily.srf`
+        /// when no provider carries the symbol, so routing a
+        /// populated cache through it risks discarding real history.
+        /// Fields added since (`tiingo_retry_after_s`, `adj_basis`)
+        /// are defaulted so legacy caches keep parsing.
         provider: CandleProvider,
-        /// Consecutive transient failure count for the primary provider (Tiingo).
-        /// Incremented on ServerError; reset to 0 on success. When >= 3, the
-        /// symbol is degraded to a fallback provider until Tiingo recovers.
+        /// Consecutive transient-failure count for a candle fetch
+        /// (ServerError / connection failure). Reset to 0 on any
+        /// successful fetch. At >= 3, `getCandles` serves the stale
+        /// cached series rather than returning an error, so a provider
+        /// outage degrades to "slightly old prices" instead of "no
+        /// prices".
+        ///
+        /// It does **not** switch providers. Provider selection is
+        /// `tiingo_retry_after_s`'s job, and only a genuine 404 moves
+        /// it - a transient outage says nothing about coverage.
         fail_count: u8 = 0,
         /// Unix-seconds instant before which Tiingo should not be
         /// consulted for this symbol. `0` (the default) means "no
@@ -1492,17 +1507,22 @@ pub const Store = struct {
         /// writes produce this value (TwelveData was demoted in an
         /// earlier change because its `adj_close` was unreliable).
         /// Cache reads still recognize the value for backwards
-        /// compatibility.
+        /// compatibility, and `getCandles` treats such a cache as
+        /// unusable so the symbol gets refetched.
         twelvedata,
-        /// Legacy: candles were sourced from Yahoo Finance. No new
-        /// writes produce this value (Yahoo was removed from the
-        /// candle pipeline in the 2026-05 audit; Yahoo is still used
-        /// for `getQuote` real-time prices but not for historical
-        /// candles). Cache reads still recognize the value for
-        /// backwards compatibility.
+        /// Candles were sourced from Yahoo Finance.
+        ///
+        /// Actively written. `fetchCandlesFromProviders` falls back to
+        /// Yahoo whenever Tiingo cannot serve a symbol, and
+        /// `refetchFullHistory` does the same for a full restatement.
+        /// Yahoo's `adj_close` is split- and dividend-adjusted like
+        /// Tiingo's, but its parser yields 0 for a JSON `null` element,
+        /// which the analytics layer then has to discard - so Tiingo is
+        /// preferred where both will answer.
         yahoo,
-        /// Active: candles sourced from Tiingo. The only value
-        /// produced by current writes.
+        /// Candles were sourced from Tiingo. Preferred: it serves
+        /// dividends and splits from the same response, and its
+        /// `adj_close` is what the analytics layer is written against.
         tiingo,
 
         pub fn fromString(s: []const u8) CandleProvider {
@@ -3684,7 +3704,7 @@ test "deserializeCandleMeta fails on old cache that elided provider field" {
     // (model has no default for provider). The graceful handling is
     // upstream: `readCandleMeta` swallows the deserialization error
     // and returns null, which makes `getCandles` treat it as a cache
-    // miss and trigger a fresh fetch via `populateAllFromTiingo`.
+    // miss and trigger a fresh fetch via `refetchFullHistory`.
     // The new fetch writes a meta file with the provider explicit.
     //
     // This test documents the failure mode and confirms it's not a
diff --git a/src/commands/perf.zig b/src/commands/perf.zig
index 14e61b2..d311eaa 100644
--- a/src/commands/perf.zig
+++ b/src/commands/perf.zig
@@ -83,10 +83,12 @@ pub fn run(ctx: *framework.RunCtx, parsed: ParsedArgs) !void {
     try out.print(")\nLatest close: {f}\n", .{Money.from(c[c.len - 1].close)});
 
     // `dividends != null` indicates we got explicit dividend records
-    // from the provider. When false we still display total return
-    // (synthesized from adj_close, which most providers bake dividends
-    // into), but we surface a hint that explicit dividend data is
-    // missing.
+    // from the provider. When false we still display total return -
+    // `performance.totalReturns` degrades to the provider's `adj_close`,
+    // which is dividend-adjusted - but we surface a hint, because that
+    // series is only as current as the last full candle fetch (see
+    // `CandleMeta.adj_basis`) and understates by the missed yield when a
+    // distribution has gone ex since.
     const has_explicit_divs = result.dividends != null;
 
     // -- As-of-date returns --