• Nvidia (NVDA -0.69%) is starting to look like a financier as well as a chipmaker. It lined up six Wall Street firms to mobilize $500 billion in AI financing for its clients. It has also taken about $70 billion in equity stakes across the industry, including up to $30 billion in OpenAI and $10 billion in Anthropic. It now sells the chips, helps fund the buyers, and owns pieces of the customers.
• Raw computing power is becoming a tradable commodity. CME Group (CME +1.41%), a Stock Advisor recommendation, will launch futures this fall on the hourly rental price of Nvidia's top chips—priced the way markets value oil.
• Security is the built-in tax. Every AI agent a company turns on is one more system to defend. That keeps our highly recommended CrowdStrike (CRWD +0.80%) in demand. Nvidia's newest open-source model was tested on its platform.
• The build-out increasingly runs on debt. CoreWeave (CRWV -1.50%) doubled its revenue but grew its debt 219% to pay for it. Fool analyst Tim Beyers is betting against Oracle (ORCL +3.44%) over the same reliance on borrowing.

2. Cooling Prices, Choosy Shoppers

July inflation eased to 3.4%, but the one bill that dominates the household budget didn't let up: the cost of shelter. Mortgage rates stayed near 6.5% and existing-home sales were down 1.7%. So a squeezed shopper picks a lane. They buy the cheapest version of what they need and save any splurging for what they truly care about.

• Cava Group (CAVA +2.43%), a Rule Breakers recommendation, won over the premium end of fast casual dining. In its second quarter, same-restaurant sales grew 9%, and—the figure that matters—5.3 points came from more guests walking in, not higher prices. The stock jumped about 11% after earnings and has kept climbing.
• Discount keeps winning, too, and not just domestically. BBB Foods (TBBB +2.45%), the Mexican discount grocer recommended by both Teams, grew revenue 38.7% and same-store sales 20%. Shares rose about 7% and have stayed up.
• On Holding (ONON +0.48%), also a Team Rule Breakers recommendation, grew fast but its stock is down nearly 20% after guiding to a slowdown. It won't discount its running shoes to chase volume.

The middle got squeezed out. Wendy's (WEN +2.21%) closed 289 domestic restaurants as U.S. same-restaurant sales fell 7%, and Smithfield Foods (SFD -0.20%) cut its outlook too. The big-box chains reporting next week won't be immune from this trend.

Rocket Lab (RKLB -0.18%) is spending hard to become more than a launch company, and its second quarter showed both the progress and the price.

• A record top line, a wider loss. Revenue rose 62% year over year, and the backlog hit a new record. But the company is spending faster than it earns. Its loss and cash burn both widened, it missed estimates, and the stock fell about 7%.
• Its optionality is increasing. A $397 million Space Force contract just landed. The reusable Neutron rocket targets its first launch pad this quarter. And a pending Iridium (IRDM +0.70%) deal would make it a satellite operator, not just a launcher. Think SpaceX: launches are the rockets, operating a constellation is Starlink.
• Our Stock Advisor recommendation stands strong. Both Teams have strong conviction in Rocket Lab, and nothing this quarter changed that. The business is on track. Given management's history of delivering results, we think they'll succeed.

For more than three years, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB -0.10%) hoarded cash and bought almost nothing. Last quarter, under new CEO Greg Abel, it started spending again.

• Berkshire Hathaway, our Stock Advisor recommendation, turned net buyer of stocks for the first time in more than three years. Its cash pile shrank by about $32 billion as it repurchased its own shares and bought homebuilder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion.
• The operating businesses carried the quarter: After-tax operating earnings rose about 16% year over year, led by the energy and manufacturing arms.

Berkshire's 13-F filing, its quarterly disclosure of holdings, lands today, finally showing which stocks Abel's team bought last quarter. Our analysts will be breaking it down today. For a stock that has trailed the market this year, the purchase drought ending is the shift long-term owners have wanted.

Next week, we'll check the pulse on the American consumer and witness the start of a landmark trial.

• Several big retailers report: Home Depot (HD +0.83%) on Tuesday; Target (TGT +4.34%), The TJX Companies (TJX -0.17%) on Wednesday; and Walmart (WMT -0.09%) on Thursday. These results will show what consumers are prioritizing with their budgets.
• Meta Platforms (META +0.88%), recommended by both Teams, goes on trial: A federal youth-safety case begins. A company filing floated a theoretical maximum penalty as high as $1.4 trillion, and the product changes plaintiffs seek could reshape how Meta's apps work.

7. Your Take

In what public company would you enthusiastically be an investor, a customer, and an employee?

Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!