Zacks Investment Research·2025-10-02 17:21Investment Strategy - The podcast focuses on identifying big-cap stocks outside the "MAG 7" (Magnificent Seven) for portfolio diversification [1][2] - The analysis suggests waiting for potential price weakness in fundamentally sound companies before investing [17][50] - The podcast emphasizes the importance of a diversified portfolio, highlighting that investment opportunities extend beyond AI stocks [55][56] Berkshire Hathaway (BRK B) - Berkshire Hathaway's stock has underperformed the S&P 500, with a 9% increase over the last year compared to the S&P 500's 155% gain [9] - Berkshire Hathaway's forward PE ratio is 246%, considered expensive for the company, and the PEG ratio is 35% [10][11] - Berkshire Hathaway has a substantial cash hoard of $350 billion, leading to questions about its deployment [15] - Berkshire Hathaway's price to book ratio is relatively attractive at 16% [48] Fastenal (FAST) - Fastenal's shares are up 37% over the last year, outperforming the S&P 500's 155% gain [21] - Fastenal's PE ratio is 4398%, and the PEG ratio is 444%, both considered high [25][26] - Fastenal's price to sales ratio is 72, indicating a high valuation [26] - Analysts are becoming more bullish on Fastenal, with expectations of 11% earnings growth this year and 107% next year [23] Costco (COST) - Costco's shares are up only 44% over the last year, which is disappointing compared to its historical performance [31] - Costco's PE ratio is 46, and the PEG ratio is 55, indicating a relatively high valuation [42] - Costco's price to sales ratio is 148, which is considered relatively cheap [43] - Costco is expected to have 105% earnings growth this fiscal year and another 10% next fiscal year, with 78% sales growth for both years [40]