Stocks to watch next week: Berkshire Hathaway, Super Micro, Novo Nordisk, Vistry and M&S

Vicky McKeever · Business reporter
Updated 10 min read

In This Article:

The US presidential election and the latest interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are likely to dominate market focus in the coming week, but there are also a number of major companies still due to report.

Investors will be looking to the latest report from Warren Buffett's firm Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), to garner any insights on markets from the "oracle of Omaha".

Server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI) will also be in focus, as it releases quarterly results, amid auditory scrutiny around the company.

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Investors will be looking to see how pharmaceuticals firm Novo Nordisk (NVO) is performing, as it faces growing competition in the weight-loss drug space.

Housebuilder Vistry (VTY.L) is also due to release a trading update, which comes after it warned on profits last month.

Another major UK company scheduled to report is Marks & Spencer (MA6.SG), with investors looking out for more progress on its "reshaping" strategy.

Here's more on what to look out for:

Berkshire Hathway (BRK-B) — Reports third-quarter results on Saturday 2 November

Billionaire Warren Buffett's firm Berkshire Hathaway kicks off the week's earnings releases on Saturday.

Shares in the firm are up 26% year-to-date, beating the S&P 500 (^GSPC) 20% rise in that time.

AJ Bell's Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth point out that Berkshire Hathaway has actually been whittling down its exposure to stocks and US government bonds, known as Treasuries, and adding to its cash pile.

"Granted, some of that cash pile comes from the profits and operations of the industrial holdings, including its insurance businesses such as GEICO, the BSNF railroad, utilities and gas pipelines, industrial units such as Lubrizol and Precision Castparts and consumer-facing companies such as Duracell, See’s Candy and Borsheim’s jewellers," they said. "Yet a good portion of the increase has come from asset sales."

They noted that the Berkshire Hathaway's cash pile stood at a record $272bn (￡208bn) at the end of June and regulatory filings indicate had sold some more stocks since, notably some of its bank holdings.

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"Whether investors wish to interpret this as Buffett following his own mantra of being fearful when others are greedy (and greedy when others are fearful) will be a matter of taste, but acolytes and Berkshire shareholders may look upon this as a hint from the legendary investors that US equities have started to get more than a little overheated," they said.

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