5 things to know before the bell on Monday

good morning. As we come to the end of a weekend that could have long-term implications for world politics, let’s take a look.

Stock futures are plummeting this morning. On Friday, the market recorded its lowest day and week.

Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.

On Saturday night, an airstrike by the United States and Israel killed the Iranian leader. The mission, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” resulted in the deaths of multiple American soldiers and prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran.

Here’s what you need to know:

The actions of the United States and Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and marked one of the most shocking moments for Iran since 1979. The attack reportedly killed hundreds of Iranian nationals. President Donald Trump said he would “avenge” the deaths of three U.S. service members who died, the first American casualties related to the mission. The United States also announced that three fighter jets crashed in what appeared to be a “mutual attack.” President Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that military operations are occurring “ahead of schedule.” He warned that the conflict could last up to four weeks and lead to more American deaths, sending U.S. oil prices soaring this morning. Investors are racing to determine the impact on global markets and whether an energy shock like the one of the 1970s is likely to occur. Much of the Middle East’s airspace was closed, thousands of flights canceled and travelers stranded around the world. Follow us here for the latest updates.

Concerns about the conflict spilled over into the public markets, with stock futures plummeting in pre-market trading. Follow live market updates here.

Wall Street’s so-called fear index has soared to its highest level in 2026, while gold futures rose as investors sought a safe haven. Meanwhile, energy and defense stocks rose in premarket trading.

Investors were already at a disadvantage going into today’s trade. S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite February had its worst month in almost a year. but, Dow Jones Industrial Average February was profitable, marking the longest winning streak since 2018.

in Berkshire HathawayOperating profit fell nearly 30% in the last quarter when Warren Buffett took over as CEO. The conglomerate’s deteriorating performance was mainly due to a 54% decline in profits from its insurance underwriting business.

Still, analysts and investors approved new CEO Greg Abel’s first annual shareholder letter. As CNBC’s Yun Lee reports, they seemed pleased with his commitment to the company’s value-driven philosophy and his insight into capital allocation strategies.

Mr. Abel does not intend to make any major changes to the Omaha-based company’s operations, but he struck a different tone than Mr. Buffett had said in his previous letter. See all the highlights here.

President Trump forced U.S. government agencies to stop using the company’s technology after Anthropic pushed back against the Department of Defense’s request to use it. Within hours, Sam Altman, CEO of competitor OpenAI, announced that his company had won a contract with the Department of Defense.

Notably, Altman said OpenAI has “red lines” around the same technology guardrails as Anthropic, and the Department of Defense has agreed to these restrictions. It is unclear why the federal government would accept such a requirement from OpenAI but not from Anthropic.

But there is a silver lining for Anthropic. The company’s Claude AI assistant app rose to the top. appleList of free apps for the weekend. As CNBC’s Jordan Nobe reports, the rise suggests Anthropic may be benefiting in the court of public opinion from the backlash against the Pentagon.

Looking for the latest evidence of the so-called K-shaped economy? Look no further than the gym.

lifetime and planet fitness Both reported solid growth. But as CNBC’s Brandon Gomez found, the beneath-the-surface differences in their incomes highlight growing disparities in consumer habits.

At upscale gym Lifetime, members pay big bucks for high membership fees and additional experiences like personal training and spa visits. Meanwhile, a weak outlook for value chain Planet Fitness raised concerns about how far price-sensitive consumers can stretch their wallets.

Here’s what we’re looking at this week:

—CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan, Vinay Dwivedi, Garrett Downs, Greg Iacurci, Azhar Sukri, Spriha Srivastava, Emma Graham, Leslie Josephs, Yun Li, Fred Imbert, Alex Crippen, Spencer Kimball, Dan Mangan, Ashley Capoot and Brandon Gomez contributed to this report. Melody Warner edited this version.

Disclosure: Versant Media is the parent company of CNBC.