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J. Edward Moreno & Luke Kawa8/14/25

UnitedHealth Group jumps after Berkshire Hathaway discloses stake

UnitedHealth Group soared in after-hours trading after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it purchased and held 5 million shares of the embattled healthcare giant as of the end of the second quarter, a new position for the conglomerate.

That was a roughly $1.6 billion position as of June 30 — but less now, even after the stock popped nearly 8% higher on this announcement.

It’s been a rough year for health insurers in general, but especially for UnitedHealth. This is a rare highlight during a year to forget. The company cratered after reporting Q1 earnings, saw its CEO leave and pulled guidance shortly thereafter, then fell out of bed again after posting disappointing second-quarter results at the end of July. Oh, and it’s also facing a probe from the Department of Justice into its Medicare Advantage practices.

All this bad news has pushed the company’s stock price down 46% year to date as of Thursday’s close, but that also may have been what made it attractive to a value-oriented shop like Berkshire.

At the end of the second quarter, UNH’s forward price-to-earnings multiple was about 13.1x, versus a trailing five-year average of 19.2x.

Since the end of Q2, its valuation has risen, but for a bad reason: its earnings estimates keep getting chopped.

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Hardware stocks jump thanks to server demand and record Lenovo revenue

Server stocks are rallying as Dell, Super Micro Computer, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ride the momentum of Hong Kong-based Lenovo. The PC maker’s stock rose 19% on Friday, hitting an all-time high, on record Q4 earnings.

Powering the positive earnings report was the company’s AI-related revenue, which grew 84% in the fourth quarter and now makes up over a third of total revenue. Investors seem to think the increased demand for servers could have trickle-down effects for other companies.

“The company’s results and commentary reinforced the outlook for strong AI-infrastructure demand while indicating resilient broader traditional server and storage spending,” wrote Woo Jin Ho, a senior technology analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Lenovo’s $21 billion AI-server pipeline and remarks that demand is outpacing supply support Dell’s AI-demand momentum and point to robust orders.”

AI’s insatiable computing demand is reshaping the hardware industry and driving up server demand.

Dell will report first-quarter earnings on Thursday, May 28.

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Ross Stores surges as Q1 results beat expectations, full-year guidance raised

Ross shares are rising after the company delivered strong Q1 results, with sales topping Wall Street’s projections.

The stock soared 6.3% just after the open.

Key numbers:

Earnings per share of $2.02 vs. $1.47 year over year (estimate: $1.72).
Sales of $6.01 billion, up 21% year over year (estimate: $5.61 billion).
Comparable sales growth of 17% (estimate: 8.58%).

CEO Jim Conroy attributed the results to better traffic in stores. “Customer traffic was the primary driver of the strong sales trend as compelling merchandise assortments, higher customer acquisition and engagement from our ongoing marketing initiatives, and an improved in‑store experience are resonating with shoppers.”

The company also noted that transaction volume grew across all key demographics, including “income levels, ethnicities, and age groups, including younger customers.” Sales were also likely buoyed by standard seasonal tailwinds, including consumer spending from tax refunds.

Backed by the strong quarter, the company lifted its full-year targets. Ross now projects same-store sales growth of 6% to 7%, up from the prior forecast of 3% to 4%, topping Wall Street’s estimate of 4.64%. It boosted its annual EPS guidance to a range of $7.50 to $7.74, versus the prior outlook of $7.02 to $7.36.

Ross Stores has been one of the retail sector’s standout performers this year, rising around 20% year to date as of Thursday’s close.

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