Warren Buffett
The company’s income from investments has also bolstered its operating profit, leading to an increase of 13 per cent to $8.07 billion, or about $5,561 per Class A share, compared to $7.16 billion in the same period last year
Updated May 06, 2023, 7:30 PM IST
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc has reported an impressive first-quarter profit of $35.5 billion, driven by gains from common stocks like Apple Inc. The company’s income from investments has also bolstered its operating profit, leading to an increase of 13 per cent to $8.07 billion, or about $5,561 per Class A share, compared to $7.16 billion in the same period last year.
The net income per Class A share amounted to $24,377, up from $3,784 per share in the first quarter of 2022. Furthermore, Berkshire Hathaway repurchased $4.4 billion of its own stock during the quarter, demonstrating its confidence in its future prospects.
The company’s cash hoard grew to $130.6 billion, up $2 billion from the previous quarter, as it sold a net $10.4 billion of stocks. Despite a 28 per cent decrease in its stake in Chevron, which fell to $21.6 billion, the oil company’s stock price only dropped 9 per cent.
Berkshire also spent $8.2 billion to increase its stake in truck stop operator Pilot Travel Centers to 80 per cent, leaving the founding Haslam family with 20%. Berkshire’s Class A shares have risen 4.9 per cent this year, underperforming the S&P 500’s gain of 7.7 per cent. However, in 2022, the index lagged Berkshire by 23.4 percentage points, excluding dividends.
Despite having a succession plan in place, with Vice Chairman Greg Abel scheduled to succeed Buffett as CEO, investors are acutely aware that they may not have many more opportunities to hear from the legendary duo of Buffett and longtime Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. Both Buffett and Munger are advanced in years, with the latter being99 years old and the former turning 93 on August 30th.
Paul Lountzis, who makes Berkshire Hathaway his largest investment at Lountzis Asset Management LLC in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, said, “Even though I’ve gone for 32 or 33 years, it’s enjoyable, uplifting, and you’re always learning something new. Charlie is 99, and Warren turns 93 on Aug. 30, and you just don’t know how many more you’re going to have.”