Breakfast News: A Boulder Amid a Rocky Market

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) repurchased $9.6B of its own stock in Q3 even as earnings fell 28%, a buyback pace that stands out in a market that just took a beating.

The broader tape was ugly. The S&P 500 dropped 2.68% last week, and the Nasdaq fell 3.37%, with tech stocks absorbing the heaviest damage. Interpretation: the wider Nasdaq decline versus the S&P points to growth and tech exposure as the main source of pressure, while Berkshire's buyback reads as management signaling that it sees its shares as undervalued despite the earnings decline.

The week ahead brings a cluster of earnings reports from names in the supplied watchlist, including Rocket Lab (RKLB), Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), and Cisco Systems (CSCO). Those prints land on a market already stressed by last week's selloff, so reactions may be amplified in either direction. That amplification is interpretation, not a stated outcome.

Deere & Company (DE) offers a contrast to the tech weakness: it has gained 80% since the August 2024 recommendation, per the source. The article also flags upcoming inflation data and continued market volatility as the backdrop investors must navigate.