Stocks that don't pay dividends are absolutely speculations.
Flipping houses is absolutely speculating in real estate if you neither occupy them nor rent them out during the time you own them.
Not all forms of investment are speculations at some level. If I own a landscaping business and invest in a truck, I can drive it until it goes to the junkyard. I generate a return that hopefully offsets the depreciation, and I might not get even a dollar for it when I'm done... I may even have to pay to get it towed away.