Here we are again without a shell at Berkshire Hathaway in the 2nd paragraph
NEW YORK (awp/afp) – Businessman Warren Buffett revealed on Saturday that he had invested billions of dollars in Chevron in the first quarter and, during the annual general meeting of his holding company, sent pikes to Wall Street.
The 91-year-old multi-billionaire answered questions from Berkshire Hathaway shareholders alongside his right-hand man Charlie Munger, 98, at a meeting held for the first time since 2019 in person in Omaha, North Nebraska.
The group took advantage of the weakness in markets jostled by the war in Ukraine and the fear of a slowing economy to buy more than 51 billion dollars of shares between January and March, notably increasing its stake in Chevron from 4.5 billion at the end of 2021 to 26 billion at the end of March.
The oil major is now one of the holding company’s top 4 investments alongside American Express, Apple and Bank of America. Mr. Buffett also explained to his shareholders that he bought 14% of Occidental Petroleum in two weeks.
Its holding company has also bought 11% of computer and printer manufacturer HP since the beginning of the year, and announced the takeover of the insurance company Alleghany for 11.6 billion dollars.
Result: Berkshire’s war chest melted from 147 to 106 billion dollars over the period.
Berskhire “will always have plenty of cash” immediately available to protect against bad weather, Buffett said.
He also took advantage of being on the podium to throw a few spades at Wall Street where, he believes, “they make a lot more money when people bet like in the casino than when they invest”.
His sidekick Charlie Munger for his part mocked financial advisors, bitcoin and the trading app Robinhood.
He also derided the shareholders’ proposal to separate the roles of chairman of the board and chief executive of Berkshire, calling it “the most ridiculous criticism he had heard”.
“It’s as if Ulysses came back from his victory in the Trojan War (…) and a stranger said to him + I don’t like the way you held your spear when you won this battle +”.
Shareholders will vote at the end of the afternoon on the resolutions of the general meeting.
Berkshire saw its net profit fall 53% in the first quarter to $5.5 billion.
Operating profits from businesses the holding company owns, which range from insurance companies to trains to energy to frozen desserts, remained broadly flat at $7.04 billion. .
Falling profits from insurance were offset by profits from railroads, energy, manufacturing, services and sales, a statement said.
But the value of investments made by the holding company in the markets, which can be highly volatile from quarter to quarter, has plunged in the wake of weak markets since the start of the year, leading to a loss on paper. of $1.58 billion. Warren Buffett regularly advises his shareholders not to take into account his quarterly fluctuations, downwards or upwards.
Berkshire’s stock value itself has held up well, up 7% year-to-date, while the S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest Wall Street companies, lost more than 13%.
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