Mephistopheles Posted May 20 Posted May 20 44 minutes ago, zippy1 said: Doesn't Delta own a refinery? Shouldn't this give them an advantage? That’s true!
Gamecock-YT Posted May 20 Posted May 20 7 hours ago, charlieruane said: Beyond the float benefits inherent in all airline loyalty programs, Delta has the most devout following of the major airlines... they've successfully positioned themselves as the premium option via investments in lounges (Sky Clubs and Delta One) and premium cabin offerings that outclass their competitors. The Amex partnership only reinforces their walled garden. So with Delta in particular, Buffett/Ted may see some Apple-esque-premium-walled-garden-consumer-product effects in the mix. Anecdotal, but the airline status-obsessed people in my life uniformly fly Delta. The other airlines, especially United, have realized the power of this strategy and are starting to play catchup. But Delta has a lead. Maybe among domestic carriers, but almost any premium international airline puts the U.S. Big 3 to shame. It's amazing how much service quality improves when premium cabin assignments are based on performance rather than pure seniority. Plus, every airline is currently chasing that premium segment because they're the only ones spending in this K-shaped economy. Carriers are retrofitting their fleets to pack in high-margin premium products while gutting basic economy... right as $100+ WTI and surging inflation are taking off. Oops! 6 hours ago, Intelligent_Investor said: Idk why anyone with choice would choose Delta as a rewards program, its objectively the worst of the Big 3 to the point you don't want to hold Delta Skypesos because they devalue so hard. People who just don't know any better. But honestly, none of the Big 3 are covering themselves in glory here. American is the only one left with a decent value proposition because they still offer fixed-partner award pricing for Oneworld flights but they offset that by valuing your spend over how much you fly the airline. But the days of 'loyalty' meaning anything in the airline industry are long, long gone. Hotels are pretty much the same thing.
Hektor Posted May 20 Posted May 20 13 hours ago, zippy1 said: Doesn't Delta own a refinery? Shouldn't this give them an advantage? I think they have a very variable cost structure than any of the other airlines. Besides the refinery, they have a used/old aircraft strategy, lower rate of unionization etc
Buckeye Posted May 20 Posted May 20 23 hours ago, gfp said: I think it's a little ridiculous that the media keeps characterizing this as the first big move by Abel. Zero chance Abel decided "I'm going to buy stock in Delta" Perhaps it’s not a mischaracterization. From today’s WSJ…”Buffett told the WSJ on Monday that he wasn’t involved in Berkshire’s new Delta position. But he said he gave other investment ideas to Abel…”
gfp Posted May 20 Posted May 20 23 minutes ago, Buckeye said: Perhaps it’s not a mischaracterization. From today’s WSJ…”Buffett told the WSJ on Monday that he wasn’t involved in Berkshire’s new Delta position. But he said he gave other investment ideas to Abel…” I stand corrected! Very surprising Greg or Ted would go into Delta after Berkshire's history with airlines, especially right after the leadership transition but sounds like Warren wasn't the one
dcollon Posted May 20 Posted May 20 I guess Warren hasn't given them the 800 number to call when they are thinking about buying an airline company.
gfp Posted May 20 Posted May 20 (edited) A few interesting observations from this report: The Delta buy was Ted Weschler, or at least the Delta buy was done through the broker that only Ted Weschler has used in the past. Maybe Ted and Greg discussed it and they just ended up executing the trades through Ted's broker. I don't know. The DAL stock was purchased at $62.28 avg. so they bought the dip Airbus was sold in the quarter - someone here had asked about Airbus. There is probably more airbus in Gen Re so I will check over there after my meeting. NAIC is also down for portions of the last few days for system maintenance. GOOG was purchased at $282.36 in the quarter GOOGL was purchased at $318.87 in the quarter CVX was sold at $197.51 in this tranche 20087.2026.P.Q1.P.O.1.5193374.pdf Edited May 20 by gfp
gfp Posted May 20 Posted May 20 Gen Re Q1 filing shows Sales of CVX, Diageo, Airbus Gen_Re_Q1_2026_22039.2026.P.Q1.P.O.1.5193073.pdf
Pellom Posted May 20 Posted May 20 14 minutes ago, gfp said: A few interesting observations from this report: The Delta buy was Ted Weschler, or at least the Delta buy was done through the broker that only Ted Weschler has used in the past. Maybe Ted and Greg discussed it and they just ended up executing the trades through Ted's broker. I don't know. The DAL stock was purchased at $62.28 avg. so they bought the dip Airbus was sold in the quarter - someone here had asked about Airbus. There is probably more airbus in Gen Re so I will check over there after my meeting. NAIC is also down for portions of the last few days for system maintenance. GOOG was purchased at $282.36 in the quarter GOOGL was purchased at $318.87 in the quarter CVX was sold at $197.51 in this tranche 20087.2026.P.Q1.P.O.1.5193374.pdf 2.79 MB · 1 download Thanks, gfp, as always, for the work you do and share with us here. I wonder if Ted is moving to more of a "set it and forget it" strategy with the equity portfolio, or if he was told he could spend Todd's money but not manage it thereafter. Would be weird, but this is a weird purchase so I'm brainstorming.
Munger_Disciple Posted May 20 Posted May 20 (edited) 22 minutes ago, gfp said: A few interesting observations from this report: The Delta buy was Ted Weschler, or at least the Delta buy was done through the broker that only Ted Weschler has used in the past. Maybe Ted and Greg discussed it and they just ended up executing the trades through Ted's broker. I don't know. The DAL stock was purchased at $62.28 avg. so they bought the dip Airbus was sold in the quarter - someone here had asked about Airbus. There is probably more airbus in Gen Re so I will check over there after my meeting. NAIC is also down for portions of the last few days for system maintenance. GOOG was purchased at $282.36 in the quarter GOOGL was purchased at $318.87 in the quarter CVX was sold at $197.51 in this tranche 20087.2026.P.Q1.P.O.1.5193374.pdf 2.79 MB · 2 downloads Based on the WSJ report & this filing, I am pretty sure it is Ted who bought Delta. Greg did an interview with Becky before the AGM and he was pretty cold on the whole airline industry when she asked about it. Said he was happy with just owning NetJets. Edited May 20 by Munger_Disciple
gfp Posted May 20 Posted May 20 2 hours ago, Munger_Disciple said: Based on the WSJ report & this filing, I am pretty sure it is Ted who bought Delta. Greg did an interview with Becky before the AGM and he was pretty cold on the whole airline industry when she asked about it. Said he was happy with just owning NetJets. Yeah I feel the same way - So far I've never seen a trade go through "Glen Eagle Wealth" as the broker and not be a Ted Weschler trade. But I left the possibility open because things are changing over at BRK and I have no idea what it looks like when Greg Abel picks up the phone to call in an order... Here is Columbia Insurance company's filing (another BRK subsidiary). $1.44 billion of CVX sold at $175.57 / share for a 12.3% capital gain - I think Buffett basically holds large liquid positions like Chevron as a partial cash equivalent - the dividend is taxed at a lower rate for Berkshire than a T-bill, with occasional upside optionality as an oil hedge. He flexes the position bigger and smaller but probably realizes a decent total return on the tax-equivalent-yield-on-cost plus small capital gains like this one. He probably sells his highest basis shares first as well. $1.997 billion of GOOGL (class A) at $298.03 / share - a decent price for Q1. Columbia_Insurance_Q1_2026_27812.2026.P.Q1.P.O.1.5193450.pdf
Charlie Posted May 20 Posted May 20 34 minutes ago, gfp said: $1.997 billion of GOOGL (class A) at $298.03 / share - a decent price for Q1. Thanks gfp for sharing. Could be bought at the 24th of march.
gfp Posted May 20 Posted May 20 4 minutes ago, Charlie said: Thanks gfp for sharing. Could be bought at the 24th of march. Yes it was
Charlie Posted May 20 Posted May 20 (edited) 23 minutes ago, gfp said: 27 minutes ago, Charlie said: Thanks gfp for sharing. Could be bought at the 24th of march. Yes it was Your method is much better. I used yahoo charts. In April there were some days with similar prices. I hope they bought more. Edited May 20 by Charlie
valueinvesting101 Posted May 20 Posted May 20 Does this mean they bought 23 million shares on 03/27? Seems high compared to volume that day.
gfp Posted May 20 Posted May 20 1 hour ago, valueinvesting101 said: Does this mean they bought 23 million shares on 03/27? Seems high compared to volume that day. No almost certainly not - look at the average price paid of about $318.87 - this was probably an order that Wallacbeth worked on their behalf for some length of time and delivered to them officially on 3/27. Could have been several weeks. The price paid is accurate but on enormous trades (this is almost $7.5 billion after all) the single date is misleading.
Spekulatius Posted May 21 Posted May 21 On 5/18/2026 at 11:38 PM, Mephistopheles said: The big airlines, namely Delta and United aren't really airline companies anymore. Most of their value comes from their cobranded credit cards along with the ecosystem. Here's a really good video on it: I would bet it was Buffett, not Abel The same pitch was done before the pandemic.
gfp Posted May 21 Posted May 21 A little bit of discussion around the Berkshire-Tokio Marine deal https://www.reinsurancene.ws/tokio-marine-enters-next-phase-of-growth-with-berkshire-hathaway-partnership/
gfp Posted May 28 Posted May 28 Somebody tell Greg's new central command that biBerk is paying Berkshire competitor Globe Newswire to distribute their press releases... hmmmmm https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/28/3303215/0/en/biberk-business-insurance-offers-key-insights-on-how-insurance-costs-are-impacted-by-a-positive-safety-culture-and-some-practical-steps-to-protect-your-business-by-prioritizing-saf.html
gfp Posted May 28 Posted May 28 And perhaps a bit more interesting - WSJ has an article on the rumored successor to Ajit: this is a gift article link, probably only works for the first few people who click it. Maybe don't click it if you have a WSJ subscription https://www.wsj.com/business/hes-berkshire-hathaways-other-charlie-the-heir-to-its-insurance-juggernaut-760103f9?st=u64CWP&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Munger_Disciple Posted May 28 Posted May 28 42 minutes ago, gfp said: And perhaps a bit more interesting - WSJ has an article on the rumored successor to Ajit: this is a gift article link, probably only works for the first few people who click it. Maybe don't click it if you have a WSJ subscription https://www.wsj.com/business/hes-berkshire-hathaways-other-charlie-the-heir-to-its-insurance-juggernaut-760103f9?st=u64CWP&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink It's funny that the article talks about the $10B AIG deal as not that great for Berkshire. But assuming remaining liabilities are close to 0, it's like a 10-year loan that cost Berkshire less than 3% interest.
gfp Posted May 29 Posted May 29 (edited) 1 hour ago, Munger_Disciple said: It's funny that the article talks about the $10B AIG deal as not that great for Berkshire. But assuming remaining liabilities are close to 0, it's like a 10-year loan that cost Berkshire less than 3% interest. There is no way the remaining liabilities are close to zero. Berkshire is on the hook for about $7 billion more before the $20 billion cap is hit and this contract has only had adverse development for Berkshire since they wrote it. (the entire contract is for adverse development for AIG but I'm talking about development vs. Berkshire's day one underwriting of 16 or 16.8 billion or whatever it was.) AIG's books estimate $8.9 billion remaining and Berkshire is on the hook for 80% of whatever it turns out to be in reality, subject to that total cap at $20b. At this point it is probably best to assume Berkshire pays out the entire $20 billion but the timing of when the money goes out becomes the more important factor. Edited May 29 by gfp
Munger_Disciple Posted May 29 Posted May 29 1 hour ago, gfp said: There is no way the remaining liabilities are close to zero. Berkshire is on the hook for about $7 billion more before the $20 billion cap is hit and this contract has only had adverse development for Berkshire since they wrote it. (the entire contract is for adverse development for AIG but I'm talking about development vs. Berkshire's day one underwriting of 16 or 16.8 billion or whatever it was.) AIG's books estimate $8.9 billion remaining and Berkshire is on the hook for 80% of whatever it turns out to be in reality, subject to that total cap at $20b. At this point it is probably best to assume Berkshire pays out the entire $20 billion but the timing of when the money goes out becomes the more important factor. Thanks for the explanation of the contract. I didn't delve deep into this. So it all depends on when they pay out the remaining $7B or so.
aws Posted May 31 Posted May 31 Berkshire Hathaway to Acquire Taylor Morrison Home Corporation for $8.5 Billion https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/berkshire-hathaway-acquire-taylor-morrison-203000204.html
gfp Posted May 31 Posted May 31 27 minutes ago, aws said: Berkshire Hathaway to Acquire Taylor Morrison Home Corporation for $8.5 Billion https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/berkshire-hathaway-acquire-taylor-morrison-203000204.html Just like the old days! Greg Abel is on the job
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