5 things to know before the stock market opens on Friday

Happy Friday, and have a great 2026! I started the year by watching a musical movie starring Amanda Seyfried (“Ang Lee’s Will”, not “Mamma Mia!”) at the theater.

Stock futures are rising this morning. The market has been declining for four consecutive days.

Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.

The glass is half full: The market just finished another year of strong gains. The glass is half empty: Stocks haven’t had a particularly strong start to the new year. All three major indexes are expected to end the holiday-shortened week down more than 1%.

Here’s what you need to know:

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has officially stepped down as CEO. Berkshire Hathaway. Over 60 years, Buffett’s Berkshire built a shaky textile mill into a trillion-dollar behemoth, delivering an astonishing cumulative return of more than 5.5 million percent to shareholders.

In an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick that aired in part this morning, Buffett said Berkshire is “more likely than any other company I can think of to be here 100 years from now.” Buffett will be replaced by Greg Abel, who will remain chairman of the conglomerate.

But his departure as CEO leaves open the question of who will manage Berkshire’s $300 billion stock portfolio. As CNBC’s Yun Lee points out, some investors aren’t comfortable with Abel making investment decisions, given his lack of public track record as a stock picker.

In 2025, the artificial intelligence industry has begun to reshape the American landscape, both figuratively and literally.

meta,OpenAI, microsoft and other technology companies are planning super-large campuses across the country that will turn farmland into power-hungry computing factories. As CNBC’s Mackenzie Sigalos reports, these businesses are primarily financed through debt agreements, leading to concerns of an AI bubble.

The industry has also faced intense attacks from politicians on both sides of the aisle, from Sen. Bernie Sanders to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. As CNBC’s Spencer Kimball explains, bipartisan concerns about the data center boom could slow development, especially as politicians prepare for the 2026 midterm elections.

Stellantis is bringing back the TRX, a gasoline-powered Ram pickup truck with a V-8 engine. The truck will go on sale later this year for about $100,000, Stellantis announced yesterday.

As CNBC’s Michael Weiland points out, Stellantis’ announcement comes amid a turnaround plan and as the automaker faces loosening federal emissions regulations. Although its hefty price has previously held back sales, the TRX is seen as a “halo” for Ram, a luxury vehicle that attracts the brand’s attention and could drive purchases of other Ram models.

A story of class disparity is unfolding among U.S. airlines. As CNBC’s Leslie Josephs reports, that trend will intensify in 2026.

The biggest airlines are rushing to build premium services for travelers willing to spend more. jet blue is focusing on more profitable routes and plans to launch a domestic business class service in the middle of this year. southwest It will begin charging for checked baggage for the first time in 2024. american We are currently expanding our lounge system.

But on the other side of the spectrum, spirit is fighting for survival as it faces bankruptcy for the second time in less than a year. Analysts expect Spirit to try to merge with a fellow low-cost airline after a court blocked its acquisition of JetBlue. frontier airlines.

Here are some stories I recommend you make time to read over the weekend.

CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Sarah Ming, Li Ying Xiang, Ali Levy, Michael Weiland, Mackenzie Sigalos, Alex Crippen, Yun Li and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.