Check the jukebox, because the same song seems to be stuck on repeat. Fears of disruption by artificial intelligence keep crashing different areas of the market and while trucking and transport stocks are the latest victims, it's a sign of a wider nervousness about stretched valuations.

Investors in logistics companies might have been surprised to see the sector tank on Thursday due to a company previously known for selling karaoke equipment. Algorhythm Holdings -- formerly the Singing Machine Co. -- published a white paper claiming its AI technology could make trucking more efficient. That was enough to wipe billions of dollars off companies like freight broker C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Algorhythm had less than $2 million in sales for its most recently reported quarter and is a way off revolutionizing transport. But after AI advances drove up valuations in various sectors, the threat of disruption is an excuse to take profit and rotate to other areas of the market. C.H. Robinson is one such example -- after spending years in a narrow trading range, it essentially doubled in a period of six months from the summer of 2025 to hit an all-time high last week, partly due to hopes about AI-driven efficiencies. That means it was vulnerable to a selloff.

The abrupt flip from perceived AI winner to AI loser is hitting bigger stocks too. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, which tracks the so-called 'Mag 7' large technology companies, closed in correction territory on Thursday, down nearly 11% from its high in late October. The group has gone from all being seen as beneficiaries of AI, to a period when there was a split -- some gained such as Google-parent Alphabet, while Amazon.com and Microsoft entered bear markets, defined as a 20% drawdown from recent highs. Now they are trading in lockstep again as they head downward.

But volatile reversals shouldn't be taken as a sign of an inevitable dot-com style bubble bursting. The S&P 500 is still just over 2% below its record closing high reached a couple of weeks ago. The Federal Reserve is expected to eventually resume interest-rate cuts, which should provide some relief to the large tech stocks.

Right now the mood music around AI is all about the problems it will cause for the market. But investors should expect the tune to change eventually.

-- Adam Clark

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Trump Revokes Obama-Era Environmental Regulations

President Donald Trump revoked the Environmental Protection Agency's landmark 2009 endangerment finding that serves as the key basis for U.S. climate rules, including vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. He said the stricter standards for oil and gas were onerous for auto makers and raised vehicle prices.

   -- Repealing the scientific finding means the EPA will no longer regulate 
      greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. vehicles. It also guts regulations for 
      other industries, such as fuel-fired power plants and oil and gas 
      facilities, according to the Environmental & Energy Law Program at 
      Harvard Law School. 
 
   -- Scientists have determined that six environmental gases contribute to 
      poorer air quality, rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and 
      risks to public health, agriculture, and infrastructure. The Supreme 
      Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are pollutants subject to the 
      Clean Air Act. 
 
   -- Thursday's move could mean a renewed focus on less energy-efficient but 
      more profitable bigger vehicles, especially for General Motors, Ford 
      Motor, and Stellantis North America, which are major sellers of trucks 
      and SUVs, said Morningstar analyst David Whiston. Auto makers no longer 
      need to run money-losing EV businesses. 
 
   -- Tesla has long collected emissions credits from its EVs and sold them on 
      the secondary market, creating a high-margin business. Automotive 
      regulatory credits -- some of which aren't greenhouse-gas credits -- 
      contributed about $2 billion to Tesla's $94.8 billion in revenue in 2025. 

What's Next: Coal and gas providers could also face fewer federal legal restrictions and compliance costs, said Tim Winter, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. That means utility companies will be able to keep existing plants operating as a bridge until replacement capacity is built, Winter added.

-- Nate Wolf and Janet H. Cho

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DraftKings Plans Steep 2026 Spending on Prediction Markets

DraftKings plans steep spending this year on building its prediction markets capabilities, where co-founder and CEO Jason Robins sees a "massive, incremental opportunity." To do that, it is going to use growth capital. Its profit guidance for this year, which is below analysts' forecast, reflects this spending.

   -- The mobile betting app projects a 2026 revenue guidance range of $6.5 
      billion to $6.9 billion and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, 
      depreciation, and amortization of $700 million to $900 million. Analysts 
      had expected Ebitda earnings of $981 million. 
 
   -- DraftKings missed Wall Street's fourth-quarter earnings expectations 
      despite a 43% jump in revenue, to $1.99 billion, and earnings of 36 cents 
      a share. Robins spent most of his letter to shareholders focused on the 
      prediction market platform, which DraftKings started in the fourth 
      quarter. 
 
   -- Robins sees a $10 billion annual gross revenue opportunity ahead for the 
      predictions business, taking care to say that it isn't cannibalizing the 
      sportsbook side. The business will generate revenue from fees and 
      DraftKing's own market-making in prediction trades. 
 
   -- Prediction markets offer people who live in states without legal sports 
      betting a way to wager. DraftKings also gains entry into markets it was 
      barred from, with a chance to convert users to sports betters if sports 
      betting is eventually legalized in those locations. 

What's Next: Robins' 2025 profit forecast also reflects new business being launched in "line of sight" jurisdictions. Still, the 2026 revenue forecast was also below expectations. And DraftKings faces increased competition from Robinhood Markets and Coinbase, which are also introducing more things to bet on.

-- Nick Devor and Liz Moyer

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Berkshire's New CEO Will Soon Debut Shareholder Letter

Investors are eagerly awaiting the first annual shareholder letter from new Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel outlining his vision for the conglomerate's decisions in the post-Buffett era. It will be released Feb. 28, in conjunction with Berkshire's fourth-quarter results and 2025 annual report.

   -- Abel, who became CEO on Jan. 1, is keeping Chairman and former CEO Warren 
      Buffett's tradition of releasing quarterly earnings and the annual report 
      on a Saturday morning, to give investors time to digest the information 
      before trading starts on Monday. 
 
   -- Key issues include capital allocation, especially with Berkshire sitting 
      on over $350 billion in cash and seeing limited investment opportunities. 
      Abel may address whether Berkshire should be repurchasing stock -- which 
      it hasn't done since May 2024 -- or pay a dividend, which Buffett 
      opposed. 
 
   -- That cash pile continued to build last year, partly because Berkshire was 
      a net seller of stocks for the first three quarters and partly because it 
      has diversified earnings totaling about $45 billion after taxes annually. 
      One notable acquisition last year was the $10 billion purchase of 
      Occidental Petroleum's chemicals business. 
 
   -- Some believe Berkshire investment manager Ted Weschler, a value-oriented 
      investor who joined Berkshire in 2012, is playing a key role with the 
      portfolio. But Berkshire hasn't publicly made clear what he is doing, as 
      far as Barron's can determine. 

What's Next: Abel may discuss Berkshire's focus and priorities in the coming years and how he plans to manage Berkshire's investment portfolio. Investors are curious about whether Berkshire, which Barron's named as a stock pick in July, can maintain its impressive performance without Buffett at the helm.

-- Andrew Bary and Janet H. Cho

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Coinbase's Fourth Quarter Reflects Weakening Crypto

Crypto exchange operator Coinbase demonstrated how volatile digital assets can weigh on leading industry firms, reporting a 22% drop in fourth quarter revenue as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped in value. Though the company highlighted 2025 wins, the fourth quarter swung to an unexpected loss.

   -- Coinbase reported a loss of $2.49 a share on revenue of $1.78 billion. It 
      said quarterly results weakened relative to the third quarter because of 
      market conditions. Bitcoin's price is down 15.9% so far this year and 
      nearly half its high reached last October. 
 
   -- For the full year, Coinbase said revenue rose to $6.9 billion and net 
      income was $1.3 billion. CEO Brian Armstrong characterized 2025 as a 
      strong year for the company, with Coinbase One subscriptions reaching one 
      million, and trading volume and market share double that of 2024. 
 
   -- But weakness in digital assets took their toll on fourth quarter results, 
      when subscriptions and services revenue dropped 3% from the third quarter 
      to $727 million, while transaction revenue fell 6%, to $983 million. 

What's Next: Coinbase expects first-quarter subscriptions and services revenue of $550 million to $630 million. Technology and administrative expenses are projected to be $925 million to $975 million in the first quarter, about flat from the fourth quarter.

-- Liz Moyer

***

Valentine's Spending Could Hit a Record $29.1 Billion

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