ORACLE: Earnings Stumble

Oracle reported its latest quarterly revenue, which slightly missed expectations, leading to a roughly 9% drop in the company's stock in Monday's after-hours trading.

The company's revenue increased to $12.94 billion for the fiscal second quarter from $12.28 billion the previous year. However, this was slightly below the $13.05 billion projected by analysts. Overall revenue saw a 5% rise across the board.

Looking ahead, Oracle expects revenue growth of 6% to 8% for the current quarter, considering the contributions from its Cerner business. This forecast aligns with analysts’ consensus, which anticipates revenue of around $13.3 billion, suggesting an estimated growth of about 7.5%.

• Earnings per share: $1.34 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.32 per share, expected

• Revenue: $12.94 billion, vs. $13.05 billion expected

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BERKSHIRE: Trims HP Investment

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has trimmed its HP investment to a 5.2% stake, as disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday night.

The conglomerate had previously engaged in a nine-day selling spree from mid-September to early October, which brought its position in the computer and printer company down to about 10%.

Last month, HP provided profit forecasts for the first quarter that fell short of the expectations set by Wall Street analysts.

Berkshire now holds 51.5 million shares of HP, with a value of approximately $1.6 billion, based on HP's closing price of $30.37 on Monday. Despite this reduction, Berkshire remains the third-largest institutional holder of HP shares, following BlackRock and Vanguard.

However, it is believed around Wall Street that Buffett has no plans to keep this stock and will eventually sell the entire position.

Berkshire Hathaway bought this stock in April 2022 and has not seen any profit from the purchase. It is unclear if Warren Buffett or Greg Abel made the original purchase.

GOOGLE: EPIC Wins Legal Bout

A jury in a federal court has ruled that Google's Android app marketplace is guarded by anti-competitive measures, adversely affecting both smartphone users and app creators. This significant judgment against a major aspect of a tech giant's operations was reached swiftly on Monday after just three hours of deliberation at the end of a four-week trial. The focus of the trial was Google's Play Store, the primary platform for downloading apps on Android-powered smartphones, used by hundreds of millions globally.

Epic Games, the company behind the popular video game Fortnite, brought the lawsuit three years ago. Epic Games accused Google of abusing its dominant position to block competitors in the Play Store, in an effort to protect its highly profitable business, which earns billions each year. Google, like Apple in its App Store, collects a commission ranging from 15% to 30% on in-app digital transactions.

Headlines You Need To Know: 🎙

• CPI for November comes in at 3.1% YoY

• Ford cuts planned production of EV F-150 in half

• Goldman Sachs reshuffles private credit in bid to double assets

• Michael Milken says the fed won’t move too early

• A S&P call for 6,000 in 2025

• Apple releases new journal app in the new update

• Former Rep. George Santos in plea deal talks

• EY is laying off 10% of its US consultants

Cracking the Lottery Code

This couple won $27 million by cracking the code to the lottery.

Jerry, a retired cereal factory manager with a knack for numbers, and his wife, Marge, found themselves in the spotlight not for luck but for their extraordinary analytical skills.

Their journey began in their small Michigan town when Jerry discovered a lucrative loophole in a lottery game called 'Winfall'. This game had a unique roll-down rule: if the jackpot reached $5 million without a winner, the prize money cascaded down to lower-tier winners. Jerry, with his exceptional number-crunching abilities, figured out that buying a certain amount of tickets during these roll-down periods could almost guarantee a profit.

Emboldened by this realization, Jerry and Marge established their own lottery company, GSV Investments. They started modestly, purchasing thousands of tickets during roll-down weeks. Their initial ventures were successful, netting them $6,000 on their first try. The couple’s confidence soared, and so did their investment, eventually reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on purchasing tickets.

Their operation expanded to such a degree that they had to rent a separate space to sort through and manage the sheer volume of tickets. Over a span of nine years, this methodical approach led to over $26 million in gross winnings for Jerry and Marge. After accounting for taxes and expenses, they netted around $7.75 million, a remarkable feat by any standard.

Chart of the Day

📊 Monthly U.S. pending home sales have been trending down since 2021.

The author, publisher or insiders of the publisher may currently have long or short positions in the securities of the companies mentioned herein, or may have such a position in the future (and therefore may profit from fluctuations in the trading price of the securities). To the extent such persons do have such positions, there is no guarantee that such persons will maintain such positions.

Sources:

_{1. CNBC (www.cnbc.com)}

_{2. CNBC (www.cnbc.com)}

_{3. CNBC (www.cnbc.com)}