November trading, Berkshire’s cash hoard, Big Tech’s ad revenue and more in Morning Squawk

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Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

• All three major stock indexes notched gains last month. The S&P 500 added 2.3% in October, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.5% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 4.7%.
• In addition to the AI trade, signs of thawing trade tensions between the U.S. and China also helped boost stocks last month.
• On Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s tariffs will come under scrutiny by the Supreme Court, which is set to hear oral arguments in a case that could determine the fate of his trade agenda.
• Also on deck this week are earnings reports from more than 100 companies, including Palantir, Uber, AMD and McDonald’s. Check out The Daily Dividend below for more reports we’re watching.
• More than 300 companies listed on the S&P 500 have already reported third-quarter results. More than 80% have beaten Wall Street’s expectations, according to FactSet.
• November has historically been the strongest month for the S&P 500, typically rising 1.8%, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
• Follow live market updates here.

Berkshire Hathaway‘s cash hoard grew to a new high of $381.6 billion with no buybacks, the company reported on Saturday, topping its previous record of $347.7 billion set earlier this year. CEO Warren Buffett did not repurchase any shares of the Omaha-based conglomerate despite the fact that its stock has fallen by double-digits since May, when Buffett announced that he’s stepping down.

Berkshire reported $13.485 billion in operating profit from its wholly owned businesses in the third quarter, a 34% increase from the same period a year ago. A 200% surge in income from Berkshire’s insurance underwriting business helped boost the company’s gains. Overall, the company’s earnings rose 17% year over year to $30.8 billion.

While investors had mixed feelings about Big Tech’s earnings reports last week, the members of the Magnificent Seven who reported all topped the Street’s revenue expectations for their latest quarters. One particular bright spot: online ad revenue.

Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft all reported strong sales numbers in their digital advertising businesses — a sign that economic uncertainty has yet to negatively affect ad budgets, as many feared it might. There are also no signs of Big Tech’s AI spending slowing down. The four tech giants collectively expect capital expenditure, or capex, spending to exceed $380 billion this year.

AI will allow Microsoft to grow its headcount “with a lot more leverage,” CEO Satya Nadella said on a podcast aired Friday. Nadella said the company will expand its employee count again after its workforce remained unchanged in the 2025 fiscal year.

A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to pay for SNAP food benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. The administration was set to cut off the benefits, which help feed 42 million Americans, on Nov. 1.

The Rhode Island judge ordered the benefits to be paid out of emergency funds “as soon as possible.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN on Sunday that the administration would not appeal the ruling, and that locating funds to pay for SNAP by Wednesday “could be done.”

The lapse in SNAP benefits is only the latest casualty of the shutdown, which is nearing the five-week mark.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have a hold on the market for weight loss and diabetes drugs — for now.

As CNBC’s Annika Kim Constantino reports, a new slate of drugmakers are vying for a slice of what some analysts estimate could be a $100 billion market by 2030. And as they face hurdles accessing Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, patients are continuing to turn to cheaper drugs that are copycats of the more expensive branded medications.

But the two dominant pharma firms are hoping to fend off potential competitors. Constantino reports that Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are both focusing on increasing supply and convenience, and testing new uses for their drugs. Novo Nordisk, which trails Eli Lilly in market share, is hoping its new CEO will help launch a turnaround for the Danish firm. The company’s shares have tumbled in nearly 40% this year, as analysts see its offerings falling behind those of Eli Lilly in terms of safety and efficacy.

• Monday: Palantir Technologies earnings (after the bell); ISM Manufacturing Index; September construction spending data
• Tuesday: Election Day; Uber Technologies, Spotify, Shopify, Norwegian Cruise Line, Pfizer and Yum Brands earnings (before the bell); Advanced Micro Devices, Pinterest, Super Micro, Hinge Health, Amgen and Rivian earnings (after the bell); September international trade data; September Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
• Wednesday: McDonald’s earnings (before the bell); Qualcomm, Snap, Arm Holdings, Lyft, Figma, e.l.f. Beauty and Lucid Group earnings (after the bell); weekly mortgage applications data; ADP private payrolls report; ISM Services Index
• Thursday: Warner Bros. Discovery, Tapestry, Under Armour and Moderna earnings (before the bell); Airbnb, Affirm Holdings, Block and Peloton Interactive earnings (after the bell); weekly jobless claims; third quarter productivity and costs preliminary data
• Friday: October jobs report; preliminary consumer sentiment data

— CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Yun Li, Jonathan Vanian, Jordan Novet, Dan Mangan, Lisa Kailai Han and Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report. Terri Cullen edited this edition.