Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway achieved a significant milestone on Wednesday, closing with a market value exceeding $1 trillion for the first time in its history. This landmark reflects deep investor confidence in the conglomerate, which Buffett has meticulously built over nearly six decades into one of the most formidable and diversified companies in the world. Berkshire Hathaway is now among an elite group of U.S. companies, predominantly from the technology sector, to reach this valuation, including industry giants such as Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms.
Berkshire’s Class A shares closed at $696,502.02, up 0.7%, while the more accessible Class B shares rose by 0.9% to $464.59. Under Buffett's leadership since 1965, the Omaha-based conglomerate has evolved from a struggling textile company into a massive enterprise with a wide array of businesses, including Geico, BNSF Railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Brooks running shoes, Dairy Queen, and more. In the first half of 2024 alone, Berkshire’s operating businesses generated $22.8 billion in profit, a 26% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Despite recently selling tens of billions of dollars worth of stock in Apple and Bank of America, Berkshire’s largest and formerly second-largest holdings, the company’s cash reserves surged to $276.9 billion as of June 30, 2024. This substantial cash hoard is largely held in U.S. Treasury bills. Additionally, the company has moderated its stock repurchase activities.
Steve Check, president of Check Capital Management, which has invested one-third of its $2 billion in Berkshire stock and options, remarked on Buffett’s strategy: Buffett built Berkshire in a systematic, relatively low-risk manner. As a huge conglomerate, it will always have parts doing well.
Berkshire’s Class A shares closed at $696,502.02, up 0.7%, while the more accessible Class B shares rose by 0.9% to $464.59. Under Buffett's leadership since 1965, the Omaha-based conglomerate has evolved from a struggling textile company into a massive enterprise with a wide array of businesses, including Geico, BNSF Railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Brooks running shoes, Dairy Queen, and more. In the first half of 2024 alone, Berkshire’s operating businesses generated $22.8 billion in profit, a 26% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Despite recently selling tens of billions of dollars worth of stock in Apple and Bank of America, Berkshire’s largest and formerly second-largest holdings, the company’s cash reserves surged to $276.9 billion as of June 30, 2024. This substantial cash hoard is largely held in U.S. Treasury bills. Additionally, the company has moderated its stock repurchase activities.
Steve Check, president of Check Capital Management, which has invested one-third of its $2 billion in Berkshire stock and options, remarked on Buffett’s strategy: Buffett built Berkshire in a systematic, relatively low-risk manner. As a huge conglomerate, it will always have parts doing well.