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Berkshire Hathaway is the ultimate anti-AI stock

Berkshire is a rare breed in today’s market: a megacap US stock that doesn’t really have a big footprint in AI.

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway are up more than 1% in early trading on Monday after the company reported that its Q1 operating profit rose 18% year on year.

The up day is helping the conglomerate, which just hosted its annual meeting/weekend camp for capitalists, reverse a touch of its worst period of underperformance compared to the S&P 500 since at least 1985, per Bespoke Investment Group.

No wonder management repurchased shares in Q1 for the first time since Q2 2024!

Berkshire Hathaway intermeeting performance
(Bespoke Investment Group)

One could point to the imminent exodus of the Oracle of Omaha as a catalyst for its reversal of fortunes. And there would certainly be an element of truth to that.

Warren Buffett announced he’d be stepping down as CEO last May, with Greg Abel taking his place.

“On the Friday before Berkshire’s 60th annual meeting, the stock closed at an all-time high, and three months later, it was down around 15%,” per Bespoke. “In the nine months since then, they haven’t recovered any ground.”

On the one hand, it seems like Berkshire should be one of those “heavy assets, low obsolescence” stocks that should avoid being battered by the AI boom, thanks to having such a heavy industrial footprint (including trains, energy, and aerospace manufacturing) in addition to well-known consumer brands. No matter how powerful AI gets, I’ll still be eating Dairy Queen in my Fruit of the Loom undies. Perhaps even more so, if/when the computers take my job.

On the other hand, Berkshire’s bread and butter is insurance: premiums paid provide powder for investment in other businesses and publicly traded companies. Insurance is an industry often mentioned as being at risk of AI disruption, and Q1 2026 was noteworthy for how much investors were willing to punish perceived AI losers, not just reward its winners. (On that note, Progressive Corp. surpassing Berkshire’s Geico in auto insurance market share has been attributed to, among other things, its superior investment in technology.)

But a close inspection of the fundamentals probably isn’t as useful as a characterization of what this company is, at a more basic level, and how it trades.

Berkshire is a) a very large stock, and b) not an AI stock. For many portfolio managers, being overweight a large-cap AI stock in the Magnificent 7 will effectively mean you have to be underweight one of its peers or another large-cap stock that doesn’t have high exposure to the theme. Oh, and Berkshire’s largest public holding is Apple, a company that is sitting out the AI capex boom!

Among S&P 100 companies, the weekly change in Berkshire’s share price has been the most negatively correlated with Oracle and Advanced Micro Devices over the past quarter. To invert the “cleanest dirty shirt” phrase, that publicly traded hyperscaler and AI chip designer are (with respect) considered to be the worst-tailored tuxedos at their respective balls.

To that end, Berkshire has also been negatively correlated with Goldman Sachs’ long-short high-beta momentum pair. That is, if volatile stocks that usually go up are beating risky stocks that have been trending down, it probably means that Berkshire’s a loser that day as well.

Or, as is the case this morning, the formerly Buffett-led gets to go up while the high-beta momentum trade takes a dip.

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Michael Burry says he’s selling “all or some” of his GameStop position after its bid for eBay

GameStop shareholder Michael Burry has some thoughts about the retailer’s offer to buy eBay for $55.5 billion.

But the tweet and opening line of the latest article from the hedge fund manager of “The Big Short” fame turned Substacker may muddle his overall message:

*BURRY SAYS GAMESTOP BID FOR EBAY ‘MAKES PERFECT SENSE’

From our perch, Burry’s headlined comment that the bid “makes perfect sense” seems to be imbued with a hefty dose of sarcasm, and comes in a piece that’s full of skepticism about how the financials would work. The more important thing to highlight is that he’s decided to “certainly sell to an extent, perhaps all or some” of his GameStop position this week.

Consider the context of the “perfect sense” remark:

Still, at the end of the day, this play for eBay makes perfect sense.

Wall Street does indeed mistake debt for creativity, and does so constantly.

I of all people should have known.

Charlie Munger once said, When a manager with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.

Burry appears to be saying this “makes perfect sense” because folks in financial circles will think it is smart, not because it actually is.

To be fair, Burry also wrote, “I do support the effort,” but also offers a lot of negative commentary about the bid.

For instance:

Neither does this seem revolutionary or ground-breaking in nature. More dilution, or more debt — really, the capital markets strategy here could not be more pedestrian.

If Ryan really wanted to compete with Amazon, he would have acquired Wayfair (70% of its own last mile deliveries and warehouses all over) along with a cash flow machine and a bunch of float. I heard someone was peddling such a deal back in early February.

If GameStop wants to do it [editor’s note: dominate collectibles and used goods] with billions of interest expense and all manner of covenants restricting its movements, it will not be breaking new ground. It will be trotting in well-worn ruts on the road to capitalist Hell.

No new ground has been broken yet. To truly break new ground, Ryan has to execute and succeed in this transformation from this starting position, saddled with debt.

Burry would have preferred if GameStop elected to buy a position in or bid for a company that he highlighted as a more appropriate target, including the aforementioned Wayfair.

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BlackBerry surges as software reinvention spurs retail attention

This message is brought to you by the mid-2000s: BlackBerry shares are surging in early trading.

But the once iconic smartphone maker finds itself back in the spotlight through software, not hardware.

The move follows renewed attention to its QNX software business after a Wall Street Journal report highlighted the unit’s growth, particularly in the automotive industry. This division accounts for roughly half of the company’s revenue, with the technology now embedded in roughly 275 million vehicles, powering features like driver assistance and infotainment.

BlackBerry reported its Q4 earnings in early April, with revenue of $156 million surpassing the top end of its guidance. That was fueled by stronger-than-expected sales across both its QNX and Secure Communications divisions. Shares then spiked later in the month after BlackBerry enhanced its partnership with Nvidia by integrating QNX with the chip designer’s robotics development platform.

The stock is up more than 50% year to date, making it one of the few stocks to go gangbusters thanks to its performance in software, an industry bedeviled by the competitive threat from AI.

Its recent hot run has come alongside more bullish activity in options markets. Less than half an hour into today’s session, more than 31,000 calls have already changed hands, roughly half of the full-day average over the past 20 days. The name also appears to be attracting retail attention, being one of the 15 most referenced tickers on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit over the past 12 hours, per SwaggyStocks.

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Norwegian Cruise Line sinks after outlook cut tied to higher fuel costs, weaker demand

Norwegian Cruise Line shares slid after the cruise operator cut its full-year outlook, overshadowing a first-quarter earnings beat.

The company lowered its guidance for full-year adjusted earnings per share to $1.45 to $1.79, down from its previous forecast of $2.38. It now sees adjusted EBITDA of $2.48 billion to $2.64 billion, below the company’s previous forecast of $2.95 billion and the $2.79 billion analysts were expecting.

The cut reflects a mix of macro and company-specific pressures. Higher fuel costs tied to the conflict in the Middle East are weighing on margins, while demand for European travel has softened and bookings remain below target level.

Norwegian said it entered 2026 “behind its targeted booking curve,” with geopolitical disruptions further slowing its ability to close that gap. The stock had already been under pressure, down more than 16% this year heading into the results.

On Monday morning before the open, the stock was down 6.7%.

The company’s first-quarter adjusted EPS came in at $0.23, topping estimates, but the beat was overshadowed by the guidance cut.

CEO John Chidsey said the company has already begun “taking decisive actions to strengthen execution and accountability,” including cost cutting and efficiency measures aimed at offsetting near-term pressures.

Shares of other cruise lines, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean, traded slightly lower after the report.

Separately, three people have died and at least three others are sick after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization said Sunday. Though that ship isn’t operated by one of the large publicly traded cruise liners, the news poses a potential reputational risk for the industry.

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WSJ reports GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay and has quietly been building a stake in the company

GameStop is preparing an offer for eBay and has been quietly building a stake in the company, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, a move it calls “part of CEO Ryan Cohen’s audacious plan to turn the trailer into a $100 billion-plus juggernaut.”

From WSJ:

GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion. 

GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said. 

If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned.

Shares of GameStop rose 7.4% after-hours following the report, while eBay soared 12%. 

GameStop, which has a market value of around $12 billion, has been quietly building a stake in eBay’s shares ahead of a potential offer, the people said. EBay is several times GameStop’s size, with a market value of around $46 billion. 

GameStop could submit an offer for eBay as soon as later this month, the people said. 

If eBay isn’t receptive, Cohen could decide to take the offer directly to eBay’s shareholders, one of the people added. Details of the potential offer for eBay couldn’t be learned.

Shares of GameStop rose 7.4% after-hours following the report, while eBay soared 12%. 

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