5 things to know before the stock market Monday

• Warren Buffett talked about AI, Jerome Powell, Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s Apple stake and more at the company’s annual meeting.
• The peak of earnings season has passed, but investors will still be watching several key companies this week.
• Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao both ended up in prison, but that’s where their similarities stop.

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Feeling optimistic

Stock futures were higher Monday after ending last week on a positive note in light of a weaker-than-expected jobs report. Last week, the Dow and Nasdaq rose 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively, while the S&P 500 added 0.5%. Traders were optimistic that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates sooner this year, based on the jobs report which eased fears of an overheating economy. Looking ahead this week, investors will watch for more corporate earnings reports. Follow live market updates.

2. Earnings earmark

Visitors can avoid lines at Disney World if they buy into the system.

The peak of the first-quarter earnings season is behind us, but investors are still watching key companies set to report this week, including Disney and Uber. Social media company Reddit will also report its first earnings since going public with an IPO in March. “Earnings beats have rebounded in Q1, helped by margins,” Barclays’ Emmanuel Cau wrote in a Friday note. “While misses got punished, overall earnings resilience has likely limited the downside for equities.” Here are the earnings to watch this week:

• Monday: Spirit Airlines (before the bell); Palantir Technologies, Lucid Group, Rocket Lab (after the bell)
• Tuesday: Walt Disney Co., Spirit AeroSystems, Nikola (before the bell); Reddit, Astera Labs, Lyft, Virgin Galactic, Rivian Automotive (after the bell)
• Wednesday: Uber Technologies, Shopify (before the bell); Airbnb, Instacart (Maplebear), Bumble, Robinhood, Beyond Meat, TKO Group, AMC Entertainment (after the bell)
• Thursday: Warner Bros. Discovery, Tapestry, Krispy Kreme, Roblox (before the bell); Sweetgreen (after the bell)

3. Buffett’s back, all right

Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 4, 2024.

The “Oracle of Omaha” spoke for hours at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting this weekend, where he reflected on his mortality and paid tribute to his longtime partner and right-hand man, Charlie Munger, who died late last year. Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett discussed why Berkshire sold off its Apple investment by about 13% and he revealed that the conglomerate dumped its entire Paramount stake at a loss. Buffett also said his planned successor Greg Abel should be the one making investing decisions once he is no longer in the top role, including those involving the stock portfolio. During the meeting, Buffett also fielded questions from shareholders, opined on the future of artificial intelligence and praised Fed Chair Jerome Powell for his work steering the economy. “I not only hope you come next year. I hope I come next year,” Buffett said at the end of the meeting.

4. Final verdict

Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and Zhao Changpeng (R), founder and chief executive officer of Binance.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao were once arch-rivals, as well as major players in the $2.2 trillion crypto sector. But both men have ended up in prison, with Zhao sentenced last week to four months in prison and Bankman-Fried earlier this year receiving 25 years in prison. The crypto kingpins both spent years preaching about the power of decentralized, digital currencies, but the 296-month difference in their respective prison sentences shows how they had some major divulgences in their business and personal dealings.

5. A ‘Force’ in the toy aisle

Star Wars themed Lego sets are displayed on a shelf at a Target store on September 29, 2022 in San Rafael, California.

Disney’s Star Wars and Lego first teamed up for a licensing deal 25 years ago. Since then, the partnership has grown from toys to becoming its own universe with movies, video games and apparel. Fans have rallied around the license since 1995, and it’s been a boon for privately owned Lego. The toy company was near bankruptcy in the early 2000s but strong sales of Lego Star Wars and the Lego-owned Biancle franchise helped keep the company afloat while it refocused its business. It was the first time Lego had signed a licensing deal, and Star Wars became a blueprint for its other brand deals, like Harry Potter, Batman and Marvel’s Avengers.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Yun Li, Christina Cheddar Berk, Sarah Min, MacKenzie Sigalos and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.

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