Investing’s biggest weekend is almost here. (00:21) Ricky Mulvey and Asit Sharma discuss:  - Johnson & Johnson’s spin-off of its consumer health company, Kenvue.  - If Darden Restaurants is getting a good deal on its acquisition of Ruth’s Hospitality Group.  - Yum! Brands quarter, and what it says about the global economy. (12:42) Deidre Woollard and Matt Frankel look ahead to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, taking place this weekend.   Companies discussed: JNJ, KVUE, PG, RUTH, DRI, YUM, BRK.A, BRK.B, RDFN, OXY, CVX, AAPL  Host: Ricky Mulvey  Guests: Asit Sharma, Deidre Woollard, Matt Frankel  Engineer: Dan Boyd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As loans get more expensive, what are the ripple effects for start-up companies in the tech industry? (00:21) Bill Mann discusses: - Uber's 1st-quarter results and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's declaration of profitability in 2023 - Pfizer's results beating expectations despite demand for its Covid vaccine is falling - Why he's more interested in the Federal Reserve on Wednesday than the jobs report on Friday (10:49) Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp continue their conversation with Bill Mann about how the "new normal" is affecting the tech industry in Silicon Valley. Investments discussed: UBER, PFE, MRK, AAPL Host: Chris Hill Guests: Bill Mann, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Dan Boyd, Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three of the four largest bank failures in U.S. history have happened in the past two months. (00:21) Bill Barker discusses: - Regulators seizing First Republic Bank and selling it to JP Morgan Chase - CEO Jamie Dimon's comments about the state of play in banking - Norwegian Cruise Line beating low expectations in the 1st quarter - A plot point in last night's episode of "Succession" (15:16) Alison Southwick and Robert Brokamp continue their conversation with Motley Fool senior analyst Bill Mann about the "new normal" of investing in China. Investments discussed: JPM, NCLH, CCL, DIS, PG, AAPL, BABA, VTI, VWO, FRDM Host: Chris Hill Guests: Bill Barker, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp, Bill Mann Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Dan Boyd, Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you want to maximize the value of your home for decades, you might update the kitchen. But if your time frame is one week, then you might burn down the house. Brendan Ballou is a federal prosecutor and special counsel at the Department of Justice, where he led the antitrust division’s work on private equity. He's also authored a new book, “Plunder, Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America.” Ricky Mulvey caught up with him to talk about: - The techniques many private equity companies use to generate short-term returns - A key misunderstanding about the fall of in-person retailers - Private equity’s impact on medical billing, bakeries, and insurance Companies discussed: CG, KKR, BX Host: Ricky Mulvey Guest: Brendan Ballou Engineer: Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can’t buy shares of Waystar RoyCo, but investors can still find helpful takeaways from the award-winning HBO series and the fictional company’s leadership. Ricky Mulvey talks with Motley Fool senior analyst Jim Gillies about: - Whether CEO succession plans are worth investor attention - “Succession” storylines that rhyme with real ones - Questions about Berkshire Hathaway’s next stage - One bold prediction about the end of “Succession” SPOILER ALERT: This episode discusses plot points for “Succession” through season 4 , episode 5. Companies discussed: WAYA, GOJO, BRK.A, BRK.B, DIS, AAPL, LMVUY, GE Host: Ricky Mulvey Guest: Jim Gillies Production Assist: Mark Underwood Engineer: Dan Boyd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A huge week for earnings reveals a theme for investors: bigger is better (0:21) Matt Argersinger and Jason Moser discuss: - Amazon's 1st-quarter revenue impressed but questions remain about AWS - Alphabet's $70 billion share buyback plan (and 1st-quarter results) - Visa and Mastercard beating Wall Street's expectations and providing insight into consumer spending - The latest from Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Chipotle (19:11) Motley Fool senior analyst Tim Beyers talks with Jay Chaudhry, CEO of the cloud cybersecurity company Zscaler, about "zero trust" security, under-the-radar threats, and Zscaler's growing opportunity in federal government contracting. (31:17) Matt and Jason share thoughts on UPS, advice for NFL draftees, and two stocks on their radar: Activision Blizzard and Cloudflare. Stocks discussed: MSFT, AMZN, GOOG, META, V, MA, CMG, ZS, UPS, ATVI, NET Host: Dylan Lewis Guests: Jason Moser, Matt Argersinger, Tim Beyers, Jay Chaudhry Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Dan Boyd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time in a while, Facebook's parent company gave shareholders reason to smile. (00:21) Bill Mann discusses: - Meta Platforms starting the fiscal year with a bang - The Reality Labs division posting an operating loss of (gulp) $4 billion - The current state of regional banks and the magic word he's seeing appear in the financial media (14:25) How much of a threat is ChatGPT to Google's business? In this excerpt from the most recent episode of the Stock Advisor Roundtable podcast, Brian Stoffel talks with artificial intelligence expert Hamza Lebbar and Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner.  To hear the entire new episode of Stock Advisor Roundtable, click here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6MWIz55NW99Av1l7w9FrXU?si=05100b2801f84f63&nd=1 Companies discussed: META, GOOG, GOOGL Host: Chris Hill Guests: Bill Mann, Brian Stoffel, Hamza Lebbar, Tom Gardner Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Dan Boyd, Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How hard will Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard fight to appeal the decision by UK regulators? (00:21) Bill Barker discusses: - Microsoft's strong 3rd-quarter results being overshadowed - The $3 billion breakup fee Microsoft is now likely to have to pay - Chipotle shares hitting a new all-time high after 1st-quarter profits were much higher than Wall Street was expecting (15:48) As businesses look to cut costs, what does that mean for cloud spending? Tim Beyers and Tim White take a closer look at Amazon Web Services. Companies discussed: MSFT, ATVI, SONY, NTDOY, CMG, AMZN, DDOG, ORCL, IBM Host: Chris Hill Guests: Bill Barker, Tim Beyers, Tim White Producer: Ricky Mulvey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First Republic Bank and Pepsi are very different businesses with stocks moving in very different directions. (00:21) Jim Gillies discusses: - First Republic Bank shares plummeting after terrible quarterly results and a surprisingly brief conference call - Medpace Holdings crushing their 1st-quarter report and (once again) winning the guidance game - Pepsi's stock hitting an all-time high after snacks fueled Q1 results (16:03) Bill Mann joins Alison Southwick and Prof. Robert Brokamp to talk about the "new normal" of hybrid work. Companies discussed: FRC, MEDP, PEP Check out the newest episode of our premium podcast, Stock Advisor Roundtable! https://open.spotify.com/episode/6MWIz55NW99Av1l7w9FrXU?si=05100b2801f84f63&nd=1 Host: Chris Hill Guests: Jim Gillies, Alison Southwick, Robert Brokamp, Bill Mann Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Dan Boyd, Rick Engdahl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Streaming video was an industry in flux even before this weekend's surprise news. (00:21) Jason Moser discusses: - Ripple effects for Peacock in the wake of NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell resigning - Disney, and the fate of NBCUniversal's minority stake in Hulu - Johnson & Johnson aiming to raise $3.5 billion in the IPO spinoff of its consumer healthcare division (11:31) Nick Sciple continues his conversation with anonymous Substack writer Doomberg about Tesla's plans for the future and investing for energy pinch points. Companies discussed: CMCSA, DIS, JNJ, TSLA Host: Chris Hill Guests: Jason Moser, Nick Sciple, Doomberg Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Rick Engdahl, Dan Boyd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices