Warren Buffett appears to have soured on stocks, letting cash at Berkshire Hathaway soar to nearly US$277 billion and selling about half its stake in Apple, even as the conglomerate posted a record quarterly operating profit.
Berkshire’s results released on Saturday (Aug 3) suggest the 93-year-old Buffett, one of the world’s most revered investors, is growing wary about the broader US economy or stock market valuations that have gotten too high.
The results followed a stock market sell-off that pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory, and a weak jobs report that sparked worries about US economic activity and whether the Federal Reserve waited too long to cut interest rates.
“If you look at the entire Berkshire picture and the macroeconomic data, a safe conclusion is that Berkshire is getting defensive,” said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research who rates Berkshire a “buy”.
Berkshire’s cash stake grew to US$276.9 billion as of Jun 30, from a then-record US$189 billion three months earlier, largely because it sold a net US$75.5 billion of stocks.
It sold about 390 million Apple shares in the second quarter, on top of 115 million sold from January to March, as the iPhone maker’s stock price rose 23 per cent. Berkshire still owned about 400 million shares worth US$84.2 billion as of Jun 30.
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The second quarter was the seventh straight quarter that the company sold more stocks than it bought.
Berkshire also repurchased just US$345 million of its own stock, down from US$2.6 billion in the first quarter, and none in the first three weeks of July.
“Buffett doesn’t seem to think there are attractive opportunities in publicly traded stocks, including his own,” said Jim Shanahan, an Edward Jones analyst with a “hold” rating on Berkshire. “It makes me worry what he thinks about markets and the economy.”
Geico boosts results
Second-quarter profit from Berkshire’s dozens of businesses rose 15 per cent to US$11.6 billion, or about US$8,073 per Class A share, from US$10 billion a year earlier.
Nearly half of that profit came from Berkshire’s insurance businesses including Geico car insurance, where underwriting profit more than tripled as premiums rose and claims fell.
But revenue rose just 1 per cent to US$93.7 billion, with little change in major businesses such as BNSF Railroad and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and a 12 per cent drop at the Pilot truck stop chain.
Consumers also showed signs of cutting back, causing revenue to decline at Berkshire’s more than 80 auto dealerships because they spent less per vehicle on new cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Berkshire’s returns from short-term Treasuries should decline once rate cuts begin.
Shanahan said that and revenue headwinds “may make it tough for Berkshire to deliver earnings growth in 2025”.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate also owns many industrial and manufacturing companies, a big real estate brokerage, Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom.
Quarterly net income fell 15 per cent to US$30.3 billion from US$35.9 billion a year earlier, as rising stock prices in both periods boosted the value of Berkshire’s stock investments.
Buffett has long urged shareholders to ignore Berkshire’s quarterly investment gains and losses, which often lead to outsized net profits or net losses.
Buffett wants to spend, but doesn’t
Berkshire pledges to keep a minimum US$30 billion of cash, but often lets it build up when it cannot find whole businesses or individual stocks to buy at fair prices.
Since mid-July, Berkshire has also sold more than US$3.8 billion of shares in Bank of America, its second-largest stock holding.
“We’d love to spend it, but we won’t spend it unless we think we’re doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s May 4 annual meeting, referring to the company’s cash.
Buffett said he expected Apple to remain Berkshire’s largest stock investment, but selling made sense because the 21 per cent federal tax rate on the gains would likely grow.
The sales comes only two years after Buffett labelled Apple one of Berkshire’s “four giants”, along with its insurance businesses, BNSF and Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Berkshire and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
Profit at BNSF fell 3 per cent as the railroad set aside more money for lawsuits, offsetting lower operating costs and greater shipping of consumer and agricultural products.
Lawsuits against the PacifiCorp utility unit also weighed on Berkshire Hathaway Energy, where profit fell 17 per cent.
Many homeowners and businesses blame PacifiCorp for causing Oregon wildfires in 2020. The utility set aside US$2.7 billion for wildfire losses as of Jun 30, up from US$2.4 billion three months earlier, and said losses could grow significantly.
Berkshire’s Class A shares closed on Friday at US$641,435. They are up 18 per cent this year, while the S&P 500 is up 12 per cent.
Buffett has led Berkshire since 1965. Vice-chairman Greg Abel, 62, is expected to succeed him as chief executive. REUTERS
