of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett We took a trip down memory lane in his annual shareholder letter released Saturday.
what happened: Buffett said in the letter that Berkshire was once a one-trick pony and a “doomed” New England textile business that now enjoys major ownership in “a vast and unparalleled collection of diverse businesses.” It is said that it became
Berkshire was about to make a fresh start after its textile business faced the risk of bankruptcy, and that’s when “national compensation” became available, the investment guru said. The company has since shifted resources to insurance and other non-textile businesses, he added.
Berkshire’s growth was fueled by a combination of ‘continuous savings’ by shareholders, ‘the power of compound interest’, ‘avoidance of serious mistakes’, and ‘an American tailwind’.
As of the end of 2022, Berkshire had primary ownership of eight giant companies that are part of the S&P 500 index, Buffett notes.
See also: Is Berkshire (BRKA) stock a good buy?
Berkshire’s Biggest Bet:
- american express company AXP
- Bank of American Corporation BACs
- Chevron Corporation CVX
- Coca-Cola Company unit
- HP Co., Ltd. HPQ
- Moody’s MCO
- Occidental Petroleum Corporation oxy
- Paramount Global Para
Berkshire invests about $161.2 billion in tech giant Apple. AAPLA 13F filing from the company shows it purchased an additional 20.8 million shares of Apple stock during the fourth quarter, giving it a 5.8% stake.
Almost in line with the future of the economy: Berkshire also 100% owns the freight rail operator. BNSF Railway and 92% Berkshire Hathaway Energyboth contributed more than $3 billion in revenue, Buffett said.
In addition, Berkshire’s insurance operations, which are conducted through a number of individually controlled subsidiaries, are worth comparable to BNSF or BHE, he noted.
“Overall, our 10 dominant and non-dominant giants align Berkshire more broadly with the future of the country’s economy than any other US company,” said the billionaire.
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