Stocks are at all-time highs and have logged gains at mid-year that would be acceptable for a full year. But recent sentiment among investors has been held hostage by interest-rate obsession, with peaks for stocks on days when the data suggests a cut is needed and valleys on days when rates seem destined to stay high. Indeed, the one-month charts for the major indices are roller coaster in nature. According to Mark Arbeter, Argus' Chartered Market Technician, the AAII survey is showing 39% bulls and 32% bears, while the CNN Fear & Greed Index is at 45%. Both show a neutral attitude towards stocks. That's fuel for higher stock prices according to Mark, but we need a catalyst or two to get investors off the sidelines.

Nvidia is a leading developer of graphics processing units. Traditionally, GPUs were used to enhance the experience on computing platforms, most notably in gaming applications on PCs. GPU use cases have since emerged as important semiconductors used in artificial intelligence. Nvidia not only offers AI GPUs, but also a software platform, Cuda, used for AI model development and training. Nvidia is also expanding its data center networking solutions, helping to tie GPUs together to handle complex workloads.

Disney operates in three global business segments: entertainment, sports, and experiences. Entertainment and experiences both benefit from franchises and characters the firm has created over the course of a century. Entertainment includes the ABC broadcast network, several cable television networks, and the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services. Within the segment, Disney also engages in movie and television production and distribution, with content licensed to movie theaters, other content providers, or, increasingly, kept in-house for use on Disney’s own streaming platform and television networks. The sports segment houses ESPN and the ESPN+ streaming service. Experiences contains Disney’s theme parks and vacation destinations, and also benefits from merchandise licensing.

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with a wide array of subsidiaries engaged in diverse activities. The firm's core business segment is insurance, run primarily through Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. Berkshire has used the excess cash thrown off from these and its other operations over the years to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe (railroad), Berkshire Hathaway Energy (utilities and energy distributors), and the companies that make up its manufacturing, service, and retailing operations (which include five of Berkshire's largest noninsurance pretax earnings generators: Precision Castparts, Lubrizol, Clayton Homes, Marmon, and IMC/ISCAR). The conglomerate is unique in that it is run on a completely decentralized basis.