The Week Ahead: CVS and Berkshire Hathaway to Report Earnings

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Uber was set to report earnings on Nov. 1 and CVS and Berkshire Hathaway were set to report earnings Nov. 2. Their reporting dates have since moved to Nov. 5 and Nov. 6. Earnings season is winding down, and we only expect three big companies to report in the week ahead. We are prepared to hear from Uber Technologies UBER on Thursday, followed by CVS Health CVS and Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B on Friday. With drivers completing trips over billions of miles and 111 million users using its food delivery service at least once a month, Uber is the largest on-demand ride-sharing provider in the world (outside of China). However, the firm, which has a Morningstar Economic Moat Rating of narrow, faces tough competition in the United States with Lyft LYFT. After a 75% year-over-year decline in rides in April, ride demand has slowly improved, and we expect gradual improvement in the third and fourth quarters. Between the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18 and the upcoming election, there are several layers of complexity surrounding the healthcare industry. On Nov. 10, a week after the U.S. election, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act. There are various scenarios that could affect the U.S. healthcare system--and companies in the healthcare industry such as CVS. Like every company and industry, Berkshire Hathaway is not immune to the coronavirus. However, we do think the wide-moat firm offers potential downside protection in a downturn for its subsidiaries. Berkshire Hathaway is a broadly diversified conglomerate, and we expect the company to continue to grow book value per share at a high-single-digit rate on average during most years despite the pandemic's negative impacts.