Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway goes on a US$51 billion spending spree, boosting stakes in Chevron, Occidental and Apple
- Berkshire’s combined investments in the oil sector, including Chevron and Occidental, now total more US$40 billion
- Berkshire’s first-quarter earnings fell more than 53 per cent to US$5.46 billion, from US$11.7 billion a year ago
Tens of thousands of investors packed an Omaha arena to listen to Buffett and Berkshire’s vice-chairmen answer questions at the company’s annual meeting that was back in person for the first time since the pandemic began, but the turnout was likely smaller than when it used to regularly attract more than 40,000.
Berkshire revealed in its earnings report on Saturday morning that its mountain of cash shrank to US$106 billion in the first quarter from US$147 billion at the beginning of the year as Buffett invested US$51 billion in stocks and repurchased US$3.2 billion of its own shares.
Buffett told shareholders that right after he told them in his annual letter on February 26 that he was having trouble finding anything to buy at attractive prices, Berkshire spent more than US$40 billion on stocks over the next three weeks.
Buffett did not reveal everything he bought but did mention several highlights, including boosting Berkshire’s stake in oil giant Chevron to US$26 billion, up from US$4.5 billion at the beginning of the year to make it one of the conglomerate’s four biggest investments. Berkshire also spent billions buying up 14 per cent of Occidental Petroleum’s shares in the first half of March, and added to its already massive investment in Apple stock.
