Buffett/Berkshire - general news

[KPO]

28 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

 

 

Playing offense with cash in a somewhat bombed out sector…..and a Sunday afternoon press release.  The Abel era has begun. I like it. 

[DooDiligence]

I just did a quick read through their 2025AR.

This looks like a fabulous business.

[DooDiligence]

Prioritizing returns over volume, sounds very Bershire-ish.

 

 

 

[yesman182]

I don’t follow home builders, do they all offer these services from the press release 

 

“It also provides financial services to its customers, including mortgage, title and escrow, and homeowners' insurance.”

 

 

 

[KPO]

55 minutes ago, DooDiligence said:

I just did a quick read through their 2025AR.

This looks like a fabulous business.

It is. I did work on it and several others before I recently landed on Lennar B shares. This and the press release language from Greg is good news for Berkshire’s future. He’s clearly not viewing the assets under Berkshire ownership as a random assortment of businesses purchased over the last 50+ years, but as platforms for future vertically integrated investment (e.g. Summit homes and other site built, Shaw, Benjamin Moore, Johns Manville, MiTek, etc.).
 

Now they just need to buy RYN or WY to have half the inputs covered at reasonable acquisition prices. 

[ValueMaven]

1 hour ago, yesman182 said:

I don’t follow home builders, do they all offer these services from the press release 

 

“It also provides financial services to its customers, including mortgage, title and escrow, and homeowners' insurance.”

 

 

 

Yes

[petec]

15 hours ago, KPO said:

It is. I did work on it and several others before I recently landed on Lennar B shares. This and the press release language from Greg is good news for Berkshire’s future. He’s clearly not viewing the assets under Berkshire ownership as a random assortment of businesses purchased over the last 50+ years, but as platforms for future vertically integrated investment (e.g. Summit homes and other site built, Shaw, Benjamin Moore, Johns Manville, MiTek, etc.).
 

Now they just need to buy RYN or WY to have half the inputs covered at reasonable acquisition prices. 

 

I was wondering what the "site build homebuilding operations" were. I'd forgotten about Summit. You think it's the input suppliers as well? Is that right? Plus maybe Berkshire Home Services, but presumably not the main bit of Clayton Homes?

 

Strikes me this is also a pretty fragmented sector where they could bolt on additional acquisitions fairly easily.

 

More importantly it does make me think Abel is going to be more flexible and creative in deploying capital, which is good.

[KPO]

10 minutes ago, petec said:

 

I was wondering what the "site build homebuilding operations" were. I'd forgotten about Summit. You think it's the input suppliers as well? Is that right? Plus maybe Berkshire Home Services, but presumably not the main bit of Clayton Homes?

 

Strikes me this is also a pretty fragmented sector where they could bolt on additional acquisitions fairly easily.

 

More importantly it does make me think Abel is going to be more flexible and creative in deploying capital, which is good.

This will role under Taylor Morrison eventually: https://www.claytonhomebuildinggroup.com/clayton-properties-group

 

Top 4 home builder before any additional acquisitions as far as I can tell. #1 if we want to include Clayton. There’s no doubt all of the above give lift to Shaw, Benjamin Moore and the other owned building products companies. Would love to see them buy AOS as well, but probably too pricey when you layer on an acquisition premium. 

[rogermunibond]

The homebuilders are all pretty much following the NVR model of asset light, right?

 

There's not as much benefit as with Clayton Homes where Berkshire Hathaway Finance was able to fund Clayton's manufactured home mortgages more efficiently than lenders or private capital.

 

I'll be curious to hear from the 8-k if TMHC was being shopped around. The FT mentions that Abel met with Palmer "after being introduced by advisers."

[Eldad]

6 minutes ago, rogermunibond said:

The homebuilders are all pretty much following the NVR model of asset light, right?

 

There's not as much benefit as with Clayton Homes where Berkshire Hathaway Finance was able to fund Clayton's manufactured home mortgages more efficiently than lenders or private capital.

 

I'll be curious to hear from the 8-k if TMHC was being shopped around. The FT mentions that Abel met with Palmer "after being introduced by advisers."

They say they are following NVR but their numbers are nowhere close. Taylor has inventory turns of 1.01 last year vs 3.75 for NVR. Taylor inventory is 97.32% of equity. NVR is 44.82%. NVR is still far and away the GOAT. 
 

That being said, this purchase is a perfect example of the BRK maxim of just don’t do dumb stuff. I love it and it makes me feel even better about Greg. 

[Libs]

Love this from BRK's perspective - but still don't understand why they would sell so cheap.

[gfp]

Greg is busy y'all

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/01/berkshire-hathaway-alphabet-investment.html

[rogermunibond]

[ander]

So GOOG doing this could suggest stock valuation is elevated and / or they do not want to take on debt.

 

Berkshire buying of course suggests it is an attractive priced security or some element of if AI is going to be a big part of economy having a 2.5% investment (incl current holding) via GOOG may be reasonable and the best way to express it. Because even if it's wrong, the other pieces of GOOG likely support current share price.

 

Just thinking through it...

[Eldad]

I love GOOGL and around 25x it isn’t the worst, but BRK buybacks are probably a better use of capital here. Hopefully they are buying even more BRK. 

[Munger_Disciple]

I am a little surprised that Berkshire is buying stock at a 25X multiple. I was hoping that it would be a convertible preferred stock with a big coupon attached. Why not a $10B buyback instead?

Edited Monday at 09:49 PM by Munger_Disciple

[MungerWunger]

15 minutes ago, Eldad said:

I love GOOGL and around 25x it isn’t the worst, but BRK buybacks are probably a better use of capital here. Hopefully they are buying even more BRK. 

Probably in the low 30x if you back out their investment gains

[Munger_Disciple]

3 minutes ago, MungerWunger said:

Probably in the low 30x if you back out their investment gains

 

Even more if you account for the actual cost of stock based comp. 

[Eldad]

Maybe the strategic relationship/friendship is seen as critical to BRK longterm planning. GOOGL is the leader in a lot hypothetical BRK disrupters. 
 

Also, maybe they get some preferential nat gas/utility contracts out of it. 
 

Who knows. If I’m trying to put the stocks more on autopilot and make it a float levered SPY vehicle, I definitely want to buy tons of GOOGL and MSFT and not so much NVDA and TSLA and the Space thingy. 

[Peregrine]

Head-scratching move from Berkshire. 

[yesman182]

7 hours ago, KPO said:

There’s no doubt all of the above give lift to Shaw, Benjamin Moore and the other owned building products companies.

I have doubt, why do you think Berkshire will start specifying internal purchasing? Benjamin Moore isn’t a new construction paint company, the county I live in has 1 Benjamin Moore store and dozens of sherwin williams, so in my area all commercial and new construction painters use sherwin Williams and I suspect that’s the same for most areas. Similar story with Simpson vs mitek hangers. Every lumber yard in my area stocks Simpson hangers, you can only buy mitek at Menards. I don’t see that an as easy switch. You think there will be an internal directive to only order from Berkshire companies? 

[thowed]

Fascinating.  Fact that they are issuing shares not buying back suggests a valuation statement.

 

Speculating, but maybe they gave Berkshire an advantageous deal on the shares, as having their name associated makes it incredibly more blue chip than it would otherwise.

 

[KPO]

5 minutes ago, yesman182 said:

I have doubt, why do you think Berkshire will start specifying internal purchasing? Benjamin Moore isn’t a new construction paint company, the county I live in has 1 Benjamin Moore store and dozens of sherwin williams, so in my area all commercial and new construction painters use sherwin Williams and I suspect that’s the same for most areas. Similar story with Simpson vs mitek hangers. Every lumber yard in my area stocks Simpson hangers, you can only buy mitek at Menards. I don’t see that an as easy switch. You think there will be an internal directive to only order from Berkshire companies? 

Yes. If there isn’t a directive, Greg isn’t doing his job. I don’t think one of the 4-5 largest purchasers of connectors, anchors, and truss plates is buying from Menards, or paint from retailers. At least I’d hope their supply chain is more sophisticated, or soon will be. If not, it’s a great efficiency opportunity lost, plus it would be disappointing to see them financially supporting the competition.

[ValueMaven]

we just literally put $20B to work in 24hours.  Not bad!

[Xerxes]

The deal is structured to make Ackman who has trimmed Alphabet feel both smart (Alphabet equity issuance) and not smart (Berkshire averaging up)