FRI, JUL 07, 2023

WARREN BUFFETT WATCH

Berkshire's rally is approaching its all-time high

A fresh 52-week high today for Berkshire Hathaway's A shares has brought them within striking distance of their all-time high.

After trading as high as $525,000 today, they closed at $521,620 per share, which is a year-to-date gain of 11.3%. They are up almost 18% since their near-term low in March.

A gain of 3.4% from here would set a new record, topping the March 28, 2022, close of $539,180.

The all-time intraday high of $544,389 was hit the next day.

The more widely-held Class B shares also scored a new 52-week intraday high today when they hit $344.07. They closed at $340.90, below Monday's $342.00.

A 5.5 percent gain would bring the B shares above their all-time closing high of $359.57 on March 28 of last year. The all-time intraday high is $362.10.

According to FactSet, Berkshire's market capitalization is just short of $756 billion. It came close to $800 billion last year in March.

At the beginning of the year, Barron's Andrew Bary predicted another "strong" year for Berkshire's stock, writing that it "stands to benefit from an upturn in insurance profits, its acquisition of insurer Alleghany in the fourth quarter of 2022, higher yields on the company's big cash position and income from all the 2022 equity investments led by Chevron and Occidental Petroleum."

In late January, Morningstar put Berkshire on its list of the most undervalued stocks for the first quarter.

BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET

Some links may require a subscription

Barron's (subscription): Berkshire Is Ready for Hurricane Season. The Stakes Are High for Insurers.

Bloomberg (subscription): How Seritage CEO Negotiated with Warren Buffett to Help Turn Around Real Estate Business

The Motley Fool on Yahoo Finance: Will Warren Buffett’s eventual retirement be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy Berkshire Hathaway stock?

CNBC.com: 100 million Squishmallows sold in a year — How the toy sensation joined Warren Buffett’s conglomerate

South China Morning Post: China’s EV market: BYD sets new sales record in June, signalling recovery in demand after failed price war

South China Morning Post: BYD to invest US$620 million in industrial complex in northeastern Brazil, to produce affordable vehicles and batteries for local markets

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARCHIVE

Warren Buffett: Never Bet Against America

In excerpts from Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings and a CNBC interview, Warren Buffett talks about his optimism for the United States and its economy.

BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

BERKSHIRE'S TOP U.S. STOCK HOLDINGS - July 7, 2023

Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly-traded stocks in the U.S., Japan, and Hong Kong, by market value, based on today's closing prices.

Holdings are as of March 31, 2023 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on May 15, 2023, except for:

Mitsubishi and Mitsui, which are as of June 12, 2023. Tokyo Stock Exchange prices are converted to U.S. dollars from Japanese yen.
Occidental Petroleum, which is as of June 28, 2023.

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)

If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.

Also, Buffett's annual letters to shareholders are highly-recommended reading. There are collected here on Berkshire's website.

-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch

900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

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