Defense, healthcare, crypto and AI: How the midterm election could affect stocks

Lockheed Martin gets about 70% of its sales from the U.S. government. Medicaid accounts for three-quarters of Molina Healthcare's premium revenue. Coinbase is waiting on Congress to finish writing the rules for cryptocurrency.For some of the biggest U.S. companies, Washington is part of the business model. Now, the midterm election could change who holds the leverage.A Democratic victory in either or both chambers of Congress would grant the party new leverage to investigate companies, challenge federal spending and demand legislative concessions. But their reach would have limits: President Donald Trump would retain his veto and broad authority over tariffs, immigration and federal regulation.Historically, stocks have performed well under divided government. Under Republican presidents, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 23% in the year after midterms when Congress was split, compared with 16% when Democrats controlled both chambers, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis published Thursday. Analysts often attribute the pattern in part to congressional gridlock limiting sweeping policy changes.Still, some analysts caution against assuming that pattern will repeat."We don't t...