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☆ 'Twist' in Warren Buffett's succession plan raises eyebrows among Berkshire's Omaha faithful
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

OMAHA, Nebraska — Many Berkshire Hathaway shareholders left last weekend's annual meeting pondering Warren Buffett's big revelation about succession. Others think Abel will be more likely to delegate the responsibility of stock selection. Buffett's investment lieutenants, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, have independently managed about $15 billion each for Berkshire over the past decade. In addition to Berkshire's enormous equity portfolio, its pile of cash grew to nearly $189 billion at the end of March. The new forecast would translate into more than 20% upside and push Berkshire's total market value above $1 trillion.

Persons: Warren Buffett's, Greg Abel, Buffett, Greg, Abel, Todd Combs, Ted Weschler, Buffett hasn't, Combs, Bill Stone, Charlie Munger, who's, he's, Bueffett's, Cathy Seifert, Brian Meredith, Meredith, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: OMAHA , Nebraska —, Berkshire Hathaway, Saturday, Madison Investments, CNBC, Geico, Glenview Trust, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, UBS Locations: OMAHA , Nebraska, Omaha, Berkshire, Toyama, UBS Berkshire

☆ Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway trouncing the market this year and near a record heading into shareholder meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Berkshire Hathaway shares are near all-time highs ahead of the conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting, but a few worries are weighing on analysts' minds. BRK.B ALL mountain Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares But that doesn't mean the stock is without its problems. Berkshire Hathaway Energy Berkshire Hathaway has been contending with several high-profile lawsuits in recent months, including the settlement this year of a billion-dollar lawsuit with the Haslam family over how Berkshire valued Pilot Travel Centers, a truck-stop giant. Her 12-month price target of $472 implies Berkshire shares can climb roughly 18% from Thursday's closing price of $400.60 per share. "I think that the future is very bright for Berkshire Hathaway," Shanahan said.

Persons: Berkshire Hathaway, Cathy Seifert, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Berkshire Hathaway, Haslam, PacifiCorp, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett, Edward Jones, James Shanahan, CFRA's Seifert, Seifert, Shanahan, Bull Organizations: Berkshire, Berkshire Hathaway, CFRA Research, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Berkshire, Travel Centers, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Federal Reserve, CNBC Locations: Berkshire, Oregon, Northern California, Warren, Woodstock, Omaha , Nebraska

☆ Department of Justice opens probe of Globe Life, American Income Life
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Susan Antilla | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed Globe Life Inc. and its subsidiary American Income Life seeking documents related to one of its top life insurance agencies — the Pittsburgh-based Arias Organization. Globe Life executives made no mention of the DOJ probe during a quarterly earnings call on February 8. In October, insurance regulators in Pennsylvania fined American Income Life $130,000 for engaging in deceptive consumer practices. "We do not believe the litigation will be material to Globe Life's overall results or American Income Life's agency operations," he said. Darden told the analysts that "as soon as American Income became aware of" the allegations, AIL hired an outside investigator to look into the matter.

Persons: Arias, Renee Zinsky, Michael Russin, Joel Scarborough, Globe's, Trina Orlando, Cathy Seifert, Seifert, Scarborough, Simon Arias, Natalie Price, AIL, Warren Buffett's Berkshire, James Darden, Darden, Zinsky, Janet Hendrick, Phillips Murrah, Kathryn D, Terry, Liz Rita, Susan Antilla Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Inc, Organization, News, Business, BI, CFRA Research, Securities and Exchange Commission, Globe, DOJ, Scarborough, US, Office, Western, Western District of Pennsylvania, Arias Agencies, The, Justice, Warren, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Commission, Department of Justice, AIL, Income, Zinsky, Law Locations: Pittsburgh, Scarborough, Western District, Pennsylvania, Dallas, Globe, Denver, AIL, susan.antilla1@gmail.com

☆ Warren Buffett’s highly anticipated annual letter arrives Saturday. Here’s what to expect
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett is about to release his must-read annual letter where he's expected to pay a heartwarming tribute to the late Charlie Munger. The 93-year-old chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is slated to release his annual shareholder letter Saturday at 8:00 a.m. "Succession is a top-of-mind issue for many Berkshire investors," Cathy Seifert, Berkshire analyst at CFRA Research, said in a note. Buffett's investment lieutenants, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, have taken on more responsibilities at Berkshire, independently overseeing about $15 billion each. The run up in Berkshire shares may have curbed the amount of buyback activity in the fourth quarter.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway, Steve Check, Munger, Buffett, Munger's, it's, Greg Abel, Cathy Seifert, Todd Combs, Ted Weschler, Todd, Ted Organizations: Check Capital Management, Berkshire, CFRA Research, Investors, Berkshire Hathaway, BNSF Railway Locations: Berkshire, Berkshire Hathaway The Omaha, Dairy

(AP) — Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build Berkshire Hathaway into an investment powerhouse, has died at a California hospital. Berkshire Hathaway said in a statement that Munger’s family told the company that he died Tuesday morning at the hospital just over a month before his 100th birthday. “Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation,” Buffett said in a statement. Munger and Buffett began buying Berkshire Hathaway shares in 1962 for $7 and $8 per share, and they took control of the New England textile mill in 1965. He also gave a significant portion of his Berkshire stock to his eight children after his wife died in 2010.

Persons: Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, ” Buffett, Munger, Buffett, “ Charlie, Buffett’s, Ben Graham, ” Munger, ” Edward Jones, Jim Shanahan, Cathy Seifert, ” Seifert, didn’t, Charles T, See’s Candy, it’s, ”, Investor Whitney Tilson, Tilson, you’ve, ” Tilson, hadn’t, Josh Funk Organizations: Daily Journal Corp, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Columbia University, Berkshire Hathaway, BNSF, Apple, CFRA, Buffett, Buffalo News, Wesco, Investor, University of Michigan, Army Air Corps, Harvard University, Harvard, Westlake, Stanford University Law School, Huntington Library, Samaritan Hospital, Westlake School, Costco Wholesale Corp Locations: OMAHA, Neb, Berkshire, California, New England, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Munger, Omaha , Nebraska, Omaha, Southern California, “, ”

☆ Buffett's Berkshire posts bigger loss as stocks fall; operating profit sets record
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Operating profit rose 41% to $10.76 billion, even as Berkshire's net loss more than quadrupled to $12.77 billion. "Against that backdrop it's not surprising that Berkshire's consumer and housing-related subsidiaries are seeing pressure," she said. "Berkshire is disciplined," said Tom Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Quinn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who has owned Berkshire stock since 1982. Berkshire's net results swing widely because accounting rules require the company to report investment gains and losses even if it buys and sells nothing. His $117.5 billion net worth ranks fifth worldwide according to Forbes magazine.

Persons: Rick Wilking, Warren Buffett's, Jim Shanahan, Edward Jones, Cathy Seifert, extol, Buffett, Tom Russo, Gardner Russo, Quinn, Cash, Berkshire's, Ian, Geico, Shanahan, PACIFICORP, Haslam, Jonathan Stempel, Ira Iosebashvili, Jason Neely, Diane Craft Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway, REUTERS, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Apple, Treasury, BNSF, Clayton Homes ., Berkshire, Forbes, . Berkshire, Thomson Locations: Omaha, U.S, Berkshire, Omaha , Nebraska, Lancaster , Pennsylvania, California, Florida , New Jersey, New York, United States, Israel

The firm's results "underscore continued pressure on industry organic growth that may last longer than currently reflected in investors’ expectations amid higher-for-longer short-term rates," analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a report Friday. "While we are encouraged by the firm’s sharper focus on expenses, we expect (BlackRock's) near-term organic base fee growth to remain muted." Investors are likely waiting for yields to peak before making any significant changes in their asset allocation, BlackRock said. "The long-term trend of clients consolidating more of their portfolios with BlackRock is only accelerating, and underlying business momentum remains strong," Fink said. The New York-based company's chief source of revenue is the management fees it earns as a percentage of the total AUM.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Larry Fink, Fink, Kyle Sanders, Edward Jones, Larry, Goldman Sachs, . Fink, Cathy Seifert, Jaiveer Singh, Devika Syamnath, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: BlackRock, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Goldman, CNBC, Revenue, The, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, BlackRock, The New York, Bengaluru

☆ Berkshire Hathaway has to make more deals to sustain expected growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBerkshire Hathaway has to make more deals to sustain the growth that investors are looking forCathy Seifert from CFRA Research says Berkshire Hathaway is keeping the powder dry and that sourcing acquisition candidates remains a challenge.

Persons: Berkshire Hathaway, Cathy Seifert Organizations: Berkshire, CFRA Research Locations: Berkshire

☆ Berkshire posts record operating profit, rising rates boost Buffett's returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The earnings impact of higher interest rates on investment income is offsetting the economic softness caused by those same rates," he added. Investors closely watch Berkshire because of Buffett's reputation, and because results from the Omaha, Nebraska-based company's operating units often mirror broader economic trends. NOT LOVING VALUATIONSQuarterly operating profit rose 7% to $10.04 billion, or about $6,938 per Class A share, from $9.42 billion a year earlier. Berkshire repurchased $1.4 billion of stock in the quarter, down from $4.4 billion from January to March. Overall profit from Berkshire Hathaway Energy, where Berkshire has a 92% stake, was little changed at $785 million.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Rick Wilking, Berkshire Hathaway, Jim Shanahan, Edward Jones, Buffett, Cathy Seifert, Seifert, PacifiCorp, Jonathan Stempel, Ira Iosebashvili, Angus MacSwan, Jan Harvey, Alistair Bell, Diane Craft Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Omaha , Nebraska U.S, REUTERS, Berkshire, Berkshire's Clayton Homes, Profit, BNSF, Forbes, Berkshire repurchased, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Thomson Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Berkshire, Alleghany, Oregon, An Oregon, Occidental, New York

☆ Berkshire posts record operating profit, $35.9 billion of net income
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Quarterly operating profit topped $10 billion for the first time but grew just 7%, in part from recent purchases of the Alleghany insurer and Pilot truck stop operator. Second-quarter operating profit rose to $10.04 billion, or about $6,938 per Class A share, from $9.42 billion a year earlier. Net income totaled $35.91 billion, or $24,775 per Class A share, compared with a year-earlier $43.62 billion loss. Pilot added $114 million to operating profit. Overall profit from Berkshire Hathaway Energy, in which Berkshire has a 92% stake, was little changed at $785 million.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Rick Wilking, Berkshire Hathaway, Cathy Seifert, Seifert, Buffett, PacifiCorp, Jonathan Stempel, Angus MacSwan, Jan Harvey, Alistair Bell Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Omaha , Nebraska U.S, REUTERS, Berkshire, Clayton Homes, BNSF, Berkshire repurchased, Apple, Occidental Petroleum, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Forbes, Thomson Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Berkshire, Alleghany, Occidental, An Oregon, New York

☆ BlackRock's ESG backlash looms over Larry Fink's legacy and succession
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"BlackRock has posted industry-leading organic growth over the last year while most of our competitors are experiencing persistent outflows," a company spokesperson told Insider. I criticize the way they defended it," Seifert told Insider. "Given no mortal can fill Larry's shoes, there is a high risk they pick some Jeff Immelt equivalent," Keeley told Insider. Fink chose to make his letters public, which leads to concerns that Fink wrote them as a PR exercise. However, the most effective engagement is typically private," Edmans told Insider.

Persons: Larry Fink, It's, Fink, hasn't, Larry, BlackRock, BlackRock's, Terrence Keeley, —, it's, Ron DeSantis, GIORGIO VIERA, Erik McGregor, Keeley, They're, Cathy Seifert, Seifert, Rob Kapito, Mark Wiedman, Martin Small, Rachel Lord, Susan Wagner, Jack Welch, Jeff Immelt, Welch, Electric's, Immelt, Tim Buckley, Abby Johnson, Ron O'Hanley, Jamie Dimon, Alex Edmans, Edmans, Michael M, he's, I've, Rob Organizations: BlackRock, Republicans, GOP, Bloomberg, CNBC, Florida Gov, Getty, UBS, Environmental, CFRA Research, Company, JPMorgan, Citi, GE, Vanguard, Fidelity, London Business School Locations: BlackRock, Texas, Florida, Fink

☆ Berkshire Hathaway’s energy company is about to hit a major renewable energy milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With annual meeting season coming soon, Warren Buffett's climate record is back in the news – and activists are still not happy. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate faces three different shareholder resolutions heading into its annual "Woodstock for capitalism" on May 6. Buffett's climate metrics getting betterBerkshire is a climate paradox: Many of its climate metrics are improving rapidly, if not as fast as some competitors. Berkshire Energy spokesman Brandon Zero said the company would have no comment. But it still uses more coal, the dirtiest major electricity fuel – coal represents 23% of Berkshire's power mix – more than the national average of 20%.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway’s utility company is about to hit a major renewable energy milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With annual meeting season coming soon, Warren Buffett's climate record is back in the news – and activists are still not happy. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate faces three different shareholder resolutions heading into its annual "Woodstock for capitalism" on May 6. Buffett's climate metrics getting betterBerkshire is a climate paradox: Many of its climate metrics are improving rapidly, if not as fast as some competitors. Any discussion of Berkshire and climate necessarily begin with its utility business, since electricity production accounts for a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Berkshire Energy spokesman Brandon Zero said the company would have no comment.

☆ Why Warren Buffett is investing in Japan and how to know if you should too
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett has grown even fonder of his favorite Japanese trading houses, hiking his already-large investments and teasing of more to come. Berkshire Hathaway raised its stakes in five Japanese trading houses — Mitsubishi Corp. , Mitsui & Co ., Itochu Corp. , Marubeni and Sumitomo — all to 7.4%. Buffett will appear live from Japan on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The five trading houses — roughly akin to a conglomerate structure, just like Berkshire— seem to check every box of Buffett's stock-picking criteria. In light of expectations for tighter policy, BlackRock , the world's largest asset manager, last month cut Japanese stocks to "underweight."

☆ Warren Buffett, in annual letter, stays upbeat and preaches patience
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, the 92-year-old Buffett urged investors to focus on the big picture over the long term, rather than higher inflation and other factors that in 2022 dampened stock prices, though not Berkshire's. And I doubt very much that any reader of this letter will have a different experience in the future." "Buffett is very humble in assessing his own investment prowess, and unnecessarily so," said Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Quinn and longtime Berkshire investors. It also became a big seller of stocks including Taiwanese semiconductor maker TSMC (2330.TW) late in the year, while stepping up repurchases of its own stock. Buffett also urged investors not to dwell on near-term market conditions - he said Berkshire offers "modest protection from runaway inflation, but this attribute is far from perfect."

☆ Buffett's Berkshire has record annual operating profit despite inflation, rate pressures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday reported its highest-ever annual operating profit, even as foreign currency losses and rising interest rates contributed to lower earnings in the fourth quarter. Buffett called 2022 a "good year" for Berkshire in his annual shareholder letter, after the conglomerate's dozens of businesses generated $30.8 billion of profit despite rising inflation and supply chain disruptions, including from the war in Ukraine. Berkshire also bulked up its cash hoard, ending the year with $128.6 billion after selling about $16.3 billion of stocks in the fourth quarter. Quarterly operating profit fell 8% to $6.71 billion, or $4,596 per Class A share, from $7.29 billion. Berkshire projected that Geico, which shed 7% of its 41,000-person workforce last year, will generate an underwriting profit in 2023.

☆ BlackRock's mighty tech unit is a silver lining in an awful market. But competition and a recession could test its momentum.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In a tumultuous year for BlackRock, its powerful Aladdin business won record new mandates. "2022 was a good litmus test for the BlackRock model vis-a-vis Aladdin," said Cathy Seifert, a senior equity analyst at CFRA Research. Now Sudhir Nair, the longtime BlackRock executive who runs the Aladdin business globally, and his sprawling business face a test: Keeping that momentum. "To get new business, Aladdin may have to sharpen their pencils, despite the fact that I do think they still retain a best-in-class position," Seifert said. Influential rival money managers like Two Sigma, Pimco, State Street, and Amundi have been putting resources behind their own proprietary tech platforms.

☆ Insurance is poised to perform well even amid economic weakness. Here are expert's top stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Why insurance stocks have outperformed There are a few things that have led to the sector's outperformance this year and that are expected to give it a lift in 2023. Within the group, he's focused on property and casualty insurance and life insurance. Other analysts also see value in so-called multi-line companies, which bundle different kinds of insurance together, and reinsurance, which is insurance for insurance companies. Which stocks insurance analysts like Dwelle's top pick is AIG , which has property and casualty and life insurance. He also recommends the insurance group for investors who want to orient themselves more conservatively and stay away from buying beaten up growth stocks, such as tech names.

☆ How private-equity firms, rich with investors' cash, plan to capitalize on a souring economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ultimate winners from the economic downturn may turn out to be private-equity firms. At the same time, private-equity firms are seeing fewer exits and fundraising is slowing. That's the private-equity industry, according to interviews with corporate advisors and a review of earnings transcripts. Regardless of the challenges, however, one positive note for the largest private-equity firms is that they are more diversified today. These relationships are better insulating private-equity firms from economic cycles, she added.

☆ Buffett's Berkshire loses money as stocks, Hurricane Ian offset rising demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) on Saturday posted a $2.69 billion third-quarter loss as rising inflation, falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of the conglomerate's businesses. Berkshire also bought back more of its own stock but was cautious, repurchasing $1.05 billion, similar to the second quarter. Berkshire also said rising costs from fuel and accidents hurt respective results at two of its best-known businesses, the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer. Results included $10.45 billion of losses from investments and derivatives, as the stock prices of many large Berkshire investments other than Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell. Results improved despite a $2.7 billion after-tax loss from Ian, a strong Category 4 hurricane that slammed into Florida on Sept. 28.

Overall net inflows were positive in the quarter, with long-term net inflows of $65 billion, as momentum from ETFs offset the hit from retail clients withdrawing about $5 billion. Net inflows into ETFs were about $22 billion in the quarter, boosted by $37 billion of flows in bond ETFs. "We saw $37 billion of net inflows into bond ETFs, which is the second best quarter we've had in history ... Net income fell to $1.4 billion, or $9.25 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, from $1.68 billion, or $10.89 per share, a year earlier. Fink said BlackRock has about 20% of the LDI market in the U.K., or about $250 billion.

☆ Warren Buffett's stock shopping spree slows down even during market's big pullback. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Warren Buffett's stock-buying spree slowed down drastically in the second quarter even during the market's big correction, and analysts said the "Oracle of Omaha" could be preserving capital for other uses. Berkshire Hathaway 's net stock purchase fell to $3.8 billion in the second quarter, compared with more than $41 billion in the first quarter, the conglomerate's quarterly reports showed. Berkshire Hathaway Energy? Berkshire now owns 92% of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, with the rest belonging to the family of the late billionaire philanthropist Walter Scott who passed away last September at age 90. The bulk of the losses were within Berkshire's largest positions, including Apple ($34 billion loss on Berkshire's position during the second quarter), Bank of America ($10 billion loss) and American Express ($7 billion loss).

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