REUTERS
- Warren Buffett has amassed $ 17 billion in earnings on just five stocks this year.
- Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in Bank of America has soared in value by $ 9 billion.
- Buffett earned more than $ 1 billion at Kraft Heinz, GM and US Bancorp in 2021.
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Warren Buffett is gaining a lot from the flight to appreciate stocks before the global economy reopened this summer. The investor’s famous Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate made an impressive $ 17 billion in earnings on just five shares this year.
Buffett’s company accumulates $ 9 billion in Bank of America alone. The banking group’s share price has risen 30% since the beginning of January, increasing the value of Berkshire’s expanded stake from $ 30 billion to $ 39 billion.
In addition, Berkshire made a $ 3.7 billion gain with American Express, as the financial services group’s shares jumped 30% this year. It also earned $ 1.5 billion at Kraft Heinz, $ 1.4 billion at General Motors and $ 1.3 billion at US Bancorp in less than three months.
Buffett’s bets on five Japanese brokerages last fall are also working. Itochu, Mitsui, Marubeni, Mitsubishi and Sumitomo shares gained an average of 26% this year, raising the combined value of Berkshire’s holdings by $ 1.6 billion.
Other Berkshire investments are also outperforming. Chevron, Suncor Energy and Synchrony Financial were up more than 20% this year, while Wells Fargo – formerly one of Berkshire’s biggest stakes – rose 37%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 benchmark rose 5.8% this year.
However, Berkshire’s gains were partially offset by the recent exodus of technology stocks. Apple – which accounts for more than 40% of Buffett’s stock portfolio in the United States – has fallen 7% this year. The decline swept almost $ 8 billion from the value of Berkshire’s stake.
Berkshire was also hurt by Coca-Cola, leaving its shares worth about $ 900 million less today than in early January. The company also lost about $ 400 million at both Snowflake and Verizon.
Buffett’s characteristic approach of sniffing out high-quality undervalued companies and investing in the long term is finally paying off. However, if growth stocks skyrocket again, your bet on Apple is likely to flourish. It seems that Buffett has found a way to have his cake and eat it.