Buffett Says 'Church With a Casino Attached' — And He's Not Wrong About This Market
Berkshire's historic handoff, a $35 paper-vs-physical oil anomaly, and Spirit Airlines' unceremonious exit from the land of the living
Ticker Ratings
| Ticker | Rating | Entry Price | Current | $ Gain | % Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BP BP PLC | buy | $46.50 | — | — | — |
| SHEL Shell plc | buy | $89.46 | — | — | — |
| WPP WPP plc | buy | $18.11 | — | — | — |
| GSK GSK plc | hold | $51.61 | — | — | — |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | buy | $385.34 | — | — | — |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | buy | $280.07 | — | — | — |
| AMZN AMAZON COM INC | buy | $267.67 | — | — | — |
| MSFT MICROSOFT CORP | buy | $413.24 | — | — | — |
| AMD ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC | hold | $361.85 | — | — | — |
| ORCL ORACLE CORP | buy | $171.61 | — | — | — |
| PLTR Palantir Technologies Inc. | hold | $144.45 | — | — | — |
| CVX CHEVRON CORP | hold | $190.59 | — | — | — |
| RBLX Roblox Corp | sell | $45.21 | — | — | — |
Let's set the scene: $BRK.B's first post-Buffett shareholder meeting drew a half-empty arena — which is either a vibe check on Greg Abel or proof that Oracle of Omaha tourism was always the real product. Abel opened with a deepfake Buffett demo (bold choice), posted $11.35B in Q1 operating earnings (+18% YoY), and is sitting on a record ~$397B in cash that Buffett himself says is going nowhere fast. Quote of the week: Buffett calling today's market 'a church with a casino attached.' The man hasn't lost a step.
Meanwhile, oil is having a full identity crisis. $CVX beat on production but printed its messiest quarter in five years. Andrei Jikh flagged the most alarming data point of the week: the spread between paper Brent futures (~$100) and physical dated Brent (~$130) hit $35 — a gap JP Morgan says has never been remotely this wide. A bulk carrier got taxed at Hormuz. OPEC+ added barrels nobody can ship. Gas nationally averaging $4.44/gallon. This is not a drill.
Alphabet popped 12% for its best week since 2023. Tom Lee says S&P earnings grew 28.8% vs. 14% expected and is pounding the table on software. Spirit Airlines is dead. The ultra-low-cost model, it turns out, does not survive $7 jet fuel. Pour one out — or don't, because the ticket was probably $49 and still came with three hidden fees.