15 Stories We Are Following Today 10-23-25 - Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast

Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast – Episode Summary
Episode: 15 Stories We Are Following Today 10-23-25
Host: Scott Becker
Date: October 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this brisk and informative episode, Scott Becker runs through 15 current stories that are shaping markets, private equity, business, and leadership thinking. With a conversational, energetic tone, Becker delivers concise takes on earnings updates, market moves, industry insights, and a few favorite business philosophies. The episode is a daily rundown designed for busy professionals who want a fast but thorough snapshot of what matters in business and investing today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Update

[00:15]

Markets were up slightly today after a difficult previous day.
“The S&P 500 dropped .53% and the NASDAQ dropped .93. So yesterday, a tough day today, looking better.”

2. Tesla Earnings

[00:30]

Tesla missed earnings expectations but posted record revenue growth.
Stock is “trending down early today by just a few percent. They hit record sales but profit fell.”

3. Netflix Earnings Miss

[00:45]

Netflix stock dropped 10% on earnings miss.
“Its stock went reeling after it missed on its earnings.”

4. Carvana Downturn

[01:00]

Carvana shares fell sharply, perplexing Becker.
“Carvana … the car dealer that I can hardly figure out, dropped .15 yesterday.”

5. General Motors (GM)

[01:12]

GM is scaling back EV ambitions but stock is up nearly 70% this week.
“It's scaling back its EV ambitions. Its stock is up nearly 70% this week on reports of improved earnings and … its profits outlook.”

6. Intuitive Surgical’s Success

[01:35]

Shares surged 14% after outstanding earnings.
“A great story as to why it's up 21 [percent] after record Da Vinci growth, but really it finished up 14%.”

7. IBM’s Stock Falls

[01:50]

IBM to open much lower due to disappointing cloud segment results.
“It's drugging a little bit. It was down 7% earlier today as it saw a decline in its core cloud software segment spooked investors.”

8. US National Debt

[02:07]

U.S. debt hits $38 trillion, fastest $1 trillion accumulation since the pandemic.
“Debt as we see often kills companies, families, countries. We got to get the debt under control.”

9. American Express Praised

[02:27]

Jim Cramer praised AXP’s quarter as “spectacular,” a view Becker shares.
“God knows I should have invested in American Express. It's one of the stocks we watch closely. They get enough of our money, they're doing great.”

10. Private Equity Giants Down Year-to-Date

[02:44]

Apollo down 23%; KKR down 16% for the year.
“We'll see if they're still struggling in the PA business to get exits where they need them to be.”

11. Palantir’s Surge and Market Wisdom

[03:00]

Palantir up 132% YTD; Motley Fool suggests TSM might be a smarter play.
“Palantir and Nvidia are great, but Taiwan Semiconductor might be the real stock to invest in.”

12. Amazon’s Uncertain Future

[03:15]

Amazon is near flat on the year; Becker questions its growth story.
“We are direct investors in Amazon … I do have a hard time understanding if its fast-growth days are behind it or whether it still has some future … we'll hold on forever I think on Amazon, but lots of concerns.”

13. Thoughts on Busyness and Purpose

[03:35]

Becker reflects on the value of purposeful busyness:

“Not being busy equals depressed and anxious. Busy is better than not busy. Busy with purpose is the goal. That's where self-actualization comes from.”

14. Concept of Channel Capacity

[03:55]

Importance of focusing on a limited set of priorities, citing Jason Selk’s book Organize Tomorrow Today.
“The idea that you must focus on just a few things and not spread your energies and focus too wide.”

15. The “Bullets not Cannons” Approach

[04:08]

Advocates for small tests and incremental risk-taking, referencing Jim Collins’ Good to Great.
“Fire bullets when testing things, not cannons, and that small failures are okay.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Market Struggles:
“Yesterday, a tough day; today, looking better.” [00:18]
On Debt:
“Debt as we see often kills companies, families, countries. We got to get the debt under control.” [02:10]
On American Express:
“Jim Cramer calls American Express their quarter a spectacular quarter. Could not agree with him more.” [02:30]
On Purposeful Living:
“Busy with purpose is the goal. That's where self-actualization comes from.” [03:38]
On Focus:
“You must focus on just a few things and not spread your energies and focus too wide.” [03:56]
On Testing and Innovation:
“Fire bullets when testing things, not cannons, and that small failures are okay.” [04:10]

Episode Flow & Structure

Rapid-fire update: Each “story” receives a tight, insightful treatment—rarely more than 15-20 seconds each.
Primary tone: Direct, conversational, infused with personal opinions and practical business wisdom.
Themes: Market performance, corporate earnings, behavioral finance, and leadership lessons.

Final Takeaway:
Scott Becker presents a punchy, actionable summary of the financial and business landscape as of October 23, 2025, balancing hard data with practical leadership philosophies. A must-listen (or read) for professionals seeking to stay ahead—and stay purposeful—in a fast-moving market.

Transcript

A (0:00)

This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity podcast. These are 15 stories that we're following today and thank you for listening. I First, the markets ended up a little bit up so far today after being down pre market yesterday. The market struggled. The S P 500 dropped.53% and the NASDAQ dropped.93. So yesterday, a tough day today, looking better. Second, Tesla missed on earnings but showed solid growth in its revenues. Its stock is trending down early today by just a few percent. They hit record sales but profit fell. Third, Netflix got crushed yesterday, dropped 10% as it missed on earnings. Its stock went reeling after it missed on its earnings. Fourth, Carvana, the car dealer that I can hardly figure out, dropped.15 yesterday. Their stock felt sharply yesterday. Fifth, General Motors, which we've been talking a lot about lately. It's scaling back its EV ambitions. Its stock is up nearly 70% this week on reports of improved earnings and bolstering its 2025 update its profits outlook. Barry Bera Hedger stride there. Sixth, Intuitive Surgical surged nearly 14 yesterday as it reported outstanding earnings. We watch Intuitive mostly because they work with us at Becker's Healthcare. A great story as to why it's up 21 after record Da Vinci growth, but really it finished up 14%. Seventh, IBM is set to open much lower today. It's drugging a little bit. It was down 7% earlier today as it saw a decline in its core cloud software segment spooked investors. There's a story today with IBM. Reuters has a long story on that. Eighth, U.S. debt reaches 38 trillion. That's a debacle. Fastest accumulation of debt of 1 trillion in debt since the pandemic. Again reported by the Associated Press and a lot of others as well. Debt as we see often kills companies, families, countries. We got to get the debt under control. Ninth, Jim Cramer calls American Express their quarter a spectacular quarter. Could not agree with him more. God knows I should have invested in American Express. It's one of the stocks we watch closely. They get enough of our money, they're doing great. Tenth, private equity giants Palo Global and KKR remain significantly down year to date. Apollo is down 23% year to date. KKR is down 16% year to date. We'll see if they're still struggling in the PA business to get exits where they need them to be. Eleventh, Palantir Technologies, another stock we watch closely is still up 132% year to date. It's but the great story of Motley fool about how Palantir and Nvidia are great, but Taiwan Semiconductor might be the real stock to invest in. I thought that was interesting. 12th Amazon is close to even year to date. It's up just, it's down just a little bit. We are direct investors in Amazon. I do have a hard time understanding if it's fast growth days are behind it or whether it still has some future. We're not selling. We'll hold on forever I think on Amazon, but lots of concerns about whether it's best days or not are behind Amazon. 13 Someone tweeted yesterday that being busy is better than being bored. My own sense of the males hierarchy of self actualization is as follows. Not being busy equals depressed and anxious. Busy is better than not busy. Busy with purpose is the goal. That's where self actualization comes from. We watch that closely. But busy with intentionality if you can. 14th channel capacity is one of my favorite concepts. The idea that you must focus on just a few things and not spread your energies and focus too wide. Jason Selk, brilliant sports psychologist, discusses this brilliantly in his book Organized Today Tomorrow. Organized Tomorrow Today. I hit that wrong, but that's the concept. Finally, 15th another one of my favorite concepts from business is to fire bullets when testing things, not cannons, and that small failures are okay. Jim Collins articulates these concepts great in the book Good to Great. We love that. Thank you very much for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity podcast. Thank you very much.