There will be a bear market. Nobody knows exactly when, but the dominoes are lining up. Ongoing geopolitical conflicts, high inflation, and consumers who are already tightening their budgets all suggest risk is high right now. The dramatic price swings in popular technology stocks are another sign of risk, as it exposes just how mercurial investors can be.
If you are worried about a bear market, you need to prepare now. But don’t just run to the sidelines, make a wishlist of stocks that you’d like to own, but only if their stocks were cheaper. A bear market could be the buying opportunity you have been waiting for in stocks like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKB)(NYSE: BRKB), Visa (NYSE: V), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). Here’s a quick look at each one.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Berkshire Hathaway is protected and ready to buy
Berkshire Hathaway appointed a new CEO at the start of 2026, a material change for the company. However, Greg Abel is expected to run the business very similarly to his predecessor, and iconic investor, Warren Buffett. Buffett actually handed the reins off to Abel with a very important safety valve: cash, and a lot of it. At the end of the first quarter, the company’s balance sheet showed nearly $400 billion in cash.
To be fair, that cash is a drag on near-term performance, since it could probably generate higher returns if it were invested. However, cash is a cushion in a bear market. And it provides Abel with the wherewithal to invest while fear is driving others on Wall Street to sell. That was how Buffett did things, and there’s no reason to believe Abel will change the approach. When the market recovers, as it has after every bear market in history, Berkshire Hathaway could be an even more attractive company than it was when the downturn started.
Visa doesn’t issue Visa cards
Visa is another interesting story. The stock might actually be reasonably priced right now, with its price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 29x below its five-year average of 32x. That said, the baby often goes out with the bathwater during a bear market. Notably, while Visa is a financial company, it doesn’t actually bear the financial risk of transactions made with Visa-branded cards. That risk is borne by the banks that issue the cards. Visa just collects fees for processing the payments.
