Pharma Pays for the Rotation While Crypto Hunts for a Floor

Dear readers,

Friday’s tech rout left a ledger with two columns. On one side are the companies that keep turning growth into profit, and capital is moving there. On the other is crypto, where Binance’s record theft still hangs over prices and Bitcoin has yet to prove it has found a bottom. As the month closes, here is how the two sides stack up.

The Rotation Has Numbers

The Dow Jones gained nearly 2 percent in October, while the Nasdaq Composite fell a good 5 percent, its worst month since March 2025. Deutsche Bank responded by upgrading tech stocks to “Overweight.” Its case: mega-cap tech trailed the rest of the S&P 500 by more than 16 percentage points over three weeks, even as tech earnings grew about 47 percent in the third quarter. Positioning, the bank argues, reflects only a fraction of that.

Investors who don’t want to buy tech back in one go have an alternative in Berkshire Hathaway. The stock gained 8.9 percent in October and reached record highs. Its Alphabet stake has lost roughly a quarter since its third-quarter peak, while the Coca-Cola position grew to $37.6 billion.

Goldman Sachs adds a caveat: household buying is not guaranteed forever. US households bought $840 billion in equities in the first half of 2026, and higher interest rates and AI disruption could weaken that support.

Pharma: Beats That Come With Raised Guidance

Pharma earnings offer the clearest evidence that the rotation is paying off. AbbVie raised its full-year forecast and lifted its quarterly dividend 5.2 percent to $1.82. Third-quarter revenue rose 10.3 percent to $17.4 billion, and adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.82. The immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq are each growing about 23 percent and carry the business while Humira keeps shrinking. The stock closed Friday at a 52-week high.

Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda beat expectations by a wide margin, with $8.60 billion in sales against a consensus of $7.73 billion. The company raised its adjusted earnings forecast to $2.77 to $2.82 per share. Sanofi grew Dupixent sales almost 35 percent to €5.69 billion and also lifted its outlook. Pfizer trades near its yearly high.

The risks are political. In the next negotiation round, US authorities will add 15 more drugs, including AbbVie’s Botox. According to insiders, several manufacturers are close to pricing deals for Medicaid, which accounts for roughly 10 percent of US prescription spending. Momentum currently outweighs the threat, but pricing pressure is a 2027 story.

Binance Hack: The Shock Is Absorbed, the Overhang Is Not

About $6.3 billion was stolen from Binance on Thursday, the largest crypto theft ever. Bitcoin dropped as low as roughly $76,300 and trades Saturday at about $77,500, down around 9 percent on the month.

More than $1.5 billion in leveraged bets were liquidated. Binance says it will cover all losses from its own funds and has set aside more than $6.3 billion for that purpose. About $3 billion has been frozen, mostly by Tether and Circle.

The overhang is still real. Security firms say the attacker, whom they link to North Korean hackers, still holds more than 420,000 Ether and 18,270 Bitcoin. Binance plans to reopen withdrawals in stages and document its reserves by Monday.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Bitcoin?

Bitwise and several banks see the selloff as a buying opportunity. Fund flows tell a different story: US Bitcoin ETFs lost $643 million on Friday, and Ether ETFs recorded October outflows of $1.6 billion, a record.

The level to watch is about $76,000. If it breaks, the 200-day moving average near $73,100 comes into view. The sentiment index fell from 51 to 30 in a single day, which signals fear but not panic.

Crypto Stocks: Leverage Shows Up in the Price

Holding crypto through equities means feeling the swings more sharply. Coinbase fell by double digits on Friday and set a yearly low, and it is down 23 percent over 30 days. The hack didn’t hit the company directly, but its numbers don’t help. Reported net income of $719 million consists almost entirely of valuation gains, and adjusted profit was just $78 million. Revenue fell 34 percent to $1.16 billion.

Strategy looks weak too. It reported net income of $19.53 billion, almost entirely from marking its Bitcoin holdings to market. Revenue of $125.4 million narrowly missed expectations.

CFO Andrew Kang is due to leave on November 5, and the MSCI index decision is scheduled for November 11. Robinhood and Circle each lost double digits over the month. Buying into these names is a bet on Bitcoin and on the business model at once, which means carrying both risks.

Intel: A Plunge With Two Faces

Intel lost almost 29 percent on Friday, its worst day since 1974. The stock has nearly halved over 30 days but remains well ahead for the year. Data-center revenue grew about 80 percent to $7.3 billion.

The weak guidance stems from the PC business, high memory costs and a factory accident in Israel. The company expects revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion, against roughly $17 billion expected by the market. Its adjusted earnings guidance is $0.25 per share, not the $0.43 analysts had penciled in.

BofA downgraded the stock to “Neutral” and cut its price target from $145 to $100. KeyBanc stays at “Overweight” with a $140 target. Analysts are split. Whether the drop is an entry point depends on how long the PC weakness lasts, and Intel itself expects it to persist until at least the first half of 2027.

The Takeaway

Monday brings the next test, when Binance is due to open its books on reserves. The follow-up question is whether withdrawals restart without fresh outflows. For portfolios, the lesson is that the rotation currently rewards companies that actually earn their profits. Bitcoin has to hold $76,000 before anyone can speak of stabilization.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Best regards,
The StocksToday.com Editorial