Barron's Picks And Pans: Berkshire Hathaway, Estee Lauder And More

• This weekend's Barron's cover story discusses how to prepare a portfolio for the upcoming elections.
• Other featured articles look at stand-out dividend growth stocks, how to play dual-share stocks and who wins and loses from the shift in moviegoing.
• Also, the prospects for Warren Buffet's empire, a cosmetics giant, a pawn shop operator and more.

Cover story "2020 Election: How to Prepare Your Portfolio" by Lisa Beilfuss explains what three potential election outcomes could mean for stocks from Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM to Tesla IncTSLA and for industry sectors and the U.S. economy.

Ben Levisohn's "Walt Disney and the End of Moviegoing" makes a case that Walt Disney Co DIS releasing "Mulan" via Disney+ may change how we watch movies forever. That's bad news for companies like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC.

In "Estee Lauder Stock Could Shine When the Pandemic Passes," Teresa Rivas shows why leading beauty brands, loyal customers and a push into e-commerce should help Estee Lauder Companies Inc EL emerge even stronger from the coronavirus crisis.

Several other tech giants would love to make a bid, according to "TikTok Is Taking Over. Microsoft Could Grab It for a Song" by Jack Hough. See why Barron's says only Microsoft Corporation MSFT is in a strong position.

In Lawrence C. Strauss's "Visa, Apple, and Other Dividend-Growth Stocks Are Standouts," see what sets Apple Inc. AAPL and Visa Inc V apart from other companies that have hiked dividends in recent months.

See also: Why Bezos Selling $3B In Amazon Shares Is Anything But Earth-Shaking

"How to Invest in Lennar and Other Dual-Share Companies at a Discount" by Andrew Bary takes a look at how the high-vote shares of homebuilder Lennar Corporation LEN a few other companies offer a cheaper way to gain ownership.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) had outsized earnings in the second quarter driven by gains in its equity portfolio, particularly its largest holding. So says Andrew Bary's "Warren Buffett's Berkshire Shows Strong Investment Gains."

In "How Pawn Shops Met Their Match in Covid-19," Ben Walsh points out that Barron's was bullish on FirstCash Inc FCFS in February, calling it a good hedge against recession. A lot has changed since, and Barron's takes another look.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• Biden versus Trump on economic recovery
• Biden versus Trump on taxes
• Why the job numbers look deceptively good
• Making Wall Street more inclusive
• A private-equity firm that went on a nursing-home buying spree
• The new front in the tech cold war
• Betting that the rush into gold is not over

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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