Breakfast News: Berkshire Cash Pile Soars
November 3, 2025
| Friday's Markets |
|---|
| S&P 500 6,840 (+0.26%) |
| Nasdaq 23,725 (+0.61%) |
| Dow 47,563 (+0.09%) |
| Bitcoin $109,730 (+2.58%) |
1. Insurance Lifts Berkshire Earnings
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B 0.30%) posted a 34% rise in operating income year over year Saturday, beating estimates. A calming in the insurance sector helped as natural disasters declined, with underwriting income more than tripling. The stock is up around 1.5% in pre-market trading today.
- Cash pile soars even higher: The quarter ended with nearly $382 billion in cash and equivalents, with Berkshire expected to have been a net seller of stocks while again not buying back any shares.
- "This will be the last quarterly report issued while Warren Buffett is still CEO": Fool contributing analyst Matt Frankel noted that at Q4 time, "Greg Abel will have taken over as CEO (and will be writing the much-anticipated annual letter to shareholders)."
2. Another Busy Earnings Week
Stock Advisor recommendation Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +0.54%) reports Tuesday, after soaring on last month's news of a multibillion-dollar deal with OpenAI. Fintech platform Upstart (UPST +2.23%) posts the same day, with hopes high after revenue doubled in Q2.
- Beating the S&P 500 by 96% since 2024 Hidden Gems rec: Wednesday brings the latest from Unity Software (U +0.05%), following a 59% jump in Q2 free cash flow. The same day brings an update from Paycom (PAYC 0.70%), after a 10.5% revenue rise last time.
- Watch for signs of slowing growth in North America: At Q2 time, Rule Breakers rec Airbnb (ABNB +0.43%) offered Q3 revenue guidance between $4.02 billion and $4.10 billion, though margins look like tightening a bit as the company raises investment. We'll know more Thursday.
3. More Q3 Results From Fool Favorites
Shopify (SHOP +0.66%) will report Tuesday morning. Management expects a mid-to-high twenties percentage rise in revenue year over year, following on from a 31% increase in the second quarter.
- Superscore of 91 on our Moneyball database: We'll have earnings from cloud provider Arista Networks (ANET 0.15%) Tuesday afternoon. On the back of a 30% Q2 revenue rise year over year to $2.21 billion, the company expects approximately $2.25 billion this quarter.
- "We think that The Trade Desk's open-internet approach can exist alongside the walled gardens of rivals": Fool analyst Jason Moser remained upbeat after The Trade Desk (TTD 2.23%) stock slumped on the back of Q2 earnings. Eyes peeled for Thursday's Q3 report.
4. The Week in Economics
We're due important economic updates – and will miss some – following an uncertain week heading into earnings season. The S&P 500 edged up 0.7% on the week, as the Nasdaq gained 2.2%. In October, the indices rose 2.3% and 4.7% respectively.
- Institute for Supply Management (ISM) latest: The October ISM manufacturing print is due this morning, followed by ISM services Wednesday. Over 50 indicates expansion with under 50 meaning contraction. Last month showed 49.1% and 50% respectively.
- Silenced by government shutdown: Following U.S. trade deficit and productivity updates due Tuesday and Thursday respectively, the calendar had key October jobs data down for Friday – all now delayed.
5. Your Take
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