Buffett/Berkshire - general news

[Hektor]

25 minutes ago, Blugolds said:

A headline that said, "Buffett record buybacks last quarter" would make me much happier than BRK $1T.

I guess the $1T creates one more hurdle for any wanna be activist investor. Acquiring 5% needs $50B now.

[John Hjorth]

7 minutes ago, Hektor said:

I guess the $1T creates one more hurdle for any wanna be activist investor. Acquiring 5% needs $50B now.

 

USD 50 B  from an activist to do what, @Hektor ?

Edited August 28, 2024 by John Hjorth

[Hektor]

To take a 5% position and agitate for change, I guess.

[John Hjorth]

3 minutes ago, Hektor said:

To take a 5% position and agitate for change, I guess.

 

Yes, @Hektor, - which change?

[Hektor]

Any change one could imagine - (regular/special) dividend, aggressive stock repurchase, spin offs, sell KO.....

[73 Reds]

1 hour ago, nwoodman said:

Way beyond my pay grade but this run, while reminiscent of 2007, lacks some of the more obvious macro markers.  I do appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Well, I don't pay attention to the volume traded but someone(s) is driving up the price.  Certainly no activist investor as long as Buffett is alive and well.

[CassiusKing1]

1 hour ago, Hektor said:

To take a 5% position and agitate for change, I guess.

My concern is that as the share buybacks continue, the A shares are being diminished.  I'd expect the price spread between A and B shares to continue to grow.  

One A share is equivalent to 1,500 B shares, but the B shares have 1/10,000 the voting power of the A. As less and less A shares are available, that spread will continue to grow and power will more easily be available to get.

So WEB and Greg will have to continue to buy A shares to minimize them so that the B share equivalent can somewhat match them voting weight wise.

Edited August 28, 2024 by CassiusKing1

[adventurer]

Anyone know whether there will be an interview with WB on his birthday with Becky Quick from CNBC?

[LC]

2 minutes ago, CassiusKing1 said:

One A share is equivalent to 1,500 B shares, but the B shares have 1/10,000 the voting power of the A.

 

It has always irked me that the proportion of value & voting is not consistent for B shares.

 

[cubsfan]

3 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

If you're alluding to what will happen to and about the market value of this basket of 'magnificent [now] eight', it will for sure be exciting to follow going forward, I have no idea about what will happen.

 

No I was commending your comment about investors throwing the old man Buffett into the trash bin of failed investors, that did not get it!  So true - Warren has never lost it.

[CassiusKing1]

Warren still has it.  Still a step ahead of everyone else!

[Spooky]

5 hours ago, John Hjorth said:

 

Yeah, and I recall quite a few - likely quite young  - CoBF members some years back here on CoBF - bashing both Buffett and Berkshire for being a louzy investor and a louzy investment, respectively.

 

The really funny point about it is that none of chose posters do not post about it any more here on CoBF. [Look at all that cash, the man is old, and he has for sure lost it, it's 'old economy', now see what he has been buying of listed companies, the price paid in this acquisition is crazy, etc., etc.], in fact they don't post any more - at all, that is. 

 

And despite all that, it has on average and long term, worked out really well.

 

I love when everyone thinks Warren is washed up - those have been great times to buy!

[dealraker]

Slinging this out off the cuff so it may be off but it won't be too far off:

 

Andrew Bary's tongue-in-cheek Nov 1999 cover of Barron's was: WARREN: WHAT's WRONG?  It hangs on the wall framed in my office.

 

The article from the above headline highlighted how popular GE's Welch and AIG's Greenberg were vs how out-of-it Buffett was.  Bary's writing basically was stating that he did not believe this would last.

 

1999 or 2000?

 

GE's sales were 120 bil and earnings about 12 bil.

Berkshire's sales were 30 bil and earnings about 1 bil.

 

Now what's the combo of GE entities sales and earnings vs. Berk?

Same for AIG!

 

Oh my did we just moon walk on the heads of those guys!

[Buffett_Groupie]

11 hours ago, Blugolds said:

Honestly as someone with the majority of my NW in BRK it does nothing for me really, if anything its kind of a bummer as selfishly I would be much happier if BRK was to get trounced while the cash pool in Omaha is so deep and Buffett let the buyback cannon fire for effect! I do expect an eventual retrace but it's fun to watch. 

 

A headline that said, "Buffett record buybacks last quarter" would make me much happier than BRK $1T. 

Reinforcing my confirmation bias:

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/28/buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-hits-1-trillion-market-value-first-us-company-outside-of-tech-to-do-so.html

[Xerxes]

 

saw this on Twitter. 
 

I didn’t realize Tesla is off the list. For a while now, it seems. 
 

However, its gas guzzling nemesis, Aramco is there. 

[Xerxes]

I also find it silly that after +10 years, still in the new media world, they find it necessary to tell us that Alphabet is the parent company of Google. 
 

Meta seem to get away with it. Even though the rebranding happened only a few years ago.  

[John Hjorth]

1 hour ago, Xerxes said:

 

saw this on Twitter. 
 

I didn’t realize Tesla is off the list. For a while now, it seems. 
 

However, its gas guzzling nemesis, Aramco is there. 

 

1 hour ago, Xerxes said:

I also find it silly that after +10 years, still in the new media world, they find it necessary to tell us that Alphabet is the parent company of Google. 
 

Meta seem to get away with it. Even though the rebranding happened only a few years ago.  

 

@Xerxes,

 

It's more like number 8 now, 7 to go.  [I think we never talk about Aramco here on CoBF, which we perhaps should].

[Eldad]

Market could be anticipating a massive special dividend. 

[dartmonkey]

2 hours ago, Xerxes said:

its gas guzzling nemesis, Aramco is there

gas guzzling? we guzzle, and they furnish the oil that we guzzle

[Eldad]

28 minutes ago, dartmonkey said:

gas guzzling? we guzzle, and they furnish the oil that we guzzle

My mom and dad have a good amount of oil and gas working interest. Maybe 15 years ago when people first started talking about carbon footprints my mom said “well I have a negative footprint because I supply more oil than I consume.” Hahaha I said unfortunately I don’t think that’s how it works. You are more like the drug dealer or the war profiteer in this paradigm. 

Edited August 29, 2024 by Eldad

[Xerxes]

54 minutes ago, dartmonkey said:

gas guzzling? we guzzle, and they furnish the oil that we guzzle

yes. 

got that in reverse lol 

[73 Reds]

3 hours ago, Eldad said:

Market could be anticipating a massive special dividend. 

Please NO!  Rather see WEB use the shares as currency for an acquisition.

[Munger_Disciple]

32 minutes ago, 73 Reds said:

Please NO!  Rather see WEB use the shares as currency for an acquisition.

 

There is zero chance of that happening while Buffett is in charge. Afterwards, I hope the board considers a small variable annual dividend as opposed to a large special one as the last resort if stock buybacks are not value additive after all the internal capital needs and potential acquisitions are funded. 

Edited August 29, 2024 by Munger_Disciple

[Eldad]

8 minutes ago, Munger_Disciple said:

 

There is zero chance of that happening while Buffett is in charge. Afterwards, I hope the board considers a small variable annual dividend as opposed to a large special one as the last resort if stock buybacks are not value additive after all the internal capital needs and potential acquisitions are funded. 

I was just throwing it out there. 
 

I’m not trying to be mean or anything but I think it’s probably a long shot that he can deploy anywhere close to that in his remaining working life. You are going to saddle Greg with a 300B anchor on his balance sheet on day one? 

[Munger_Disciple]

17 minutes ago, Eldad said:

I was just throwing it out there. 
 

I’m not trying to be mean or anything but I think it’s probably a long shot that he can deploy anywhere close to that in his remaining working life. You are going to saddle Greg with a 300B anchor on his balance sheet on day one? 

 

Yes, I would rather Greg have T-Bills than Apple stock at 33X.