Chart 1: Warren Buffett's war chest

In the last quarter, Berkshire Hathaway 's war chest ($157 billion) enabled them to increase revenues by $1.7 billion, most of which was lent to the US government via short-term Treasury bills.

Source: Chartr

Chart 2: The cloud podium

Following the latest quarterly earnings (Q3 2023) by the cloud computing giants, the ranking by revenues has just changed. Microsoft Azure, with quarterly revenues of $24.3 billion (+19% y/y), has moved ahead of AWS with revenues of $23.1 billion (+12% y/y). In third place, we find Google Cloud with revenues of $8.4 billion (+22% y/y).

Source: MarketScreener

Chart 3: AI will disrupt sectors

This chart represents the disruptive potential of AI on different business sectors over the next 5 years. AI is expected to have a positive influence on the semiconductor, telecoms and software sectors. However, it is expected to heavily disrupt financial services, real estate and automotive by rendering many players obsolete.

Source: Bank of America

Figure 4: Trends in MSCI World factorial indices

This chart shows the evolution of the MSCI World factor indices in relation to the classic MSCI World. An investment factor is a variable used to explain performance and classify stocks according to their characteristics. The best-known factors were identified in the Fama & French studies: size (SMB), momentum (WML) and price (HML). MSCI has adapted this work to create indexes that offer a wider range of possibilities: momentum, growth target, enhanced value, high dividend yield, quality, minimum volatility and equal weighted. Looking back over the past 10 years (to November 3, 2023), the best-performing factors on the world index (developed countries) have been "momentum" (CAGR of 10%) and "quality" (CAGR of 11.7%).

Source: MSCI

Chart 5: A quality company

As usual, let's end this section with a quality company. Today, Elf Beauty, also known as e.l.f. Cosmetics, is in the spotlight. This is an international cosmetics company based in the United States. Founded in 2004 by Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba, it has been listed on the NYSE since 2016. The company is renowned for its high-quality products at affordable prices. Elf Beauty offers a wide range of products, including make-up, skincare, beauty tools and more. In its latest quarterly publication, it saw sales increase by 76% year-on-year, representing its 19th consecutive quarter of growth. In addition to its dazzling growth, Elf is a qualitative company. Its ROE was 25.4% in 2023 and its operating margin 17.4%. What's more, its balance sheet is healthy, with more cash than debt. It is one of the 10 most popular brands among young Americans, alongside CeraVe, The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay.

Source : MarketScreener