Monday, August 7, 2023 5:11 pm2 Comments

• News

Berkshire Hathaway’s stock price hit a new all-time high on Monday after the company reported record quarterly operating profit and net income. The conglomerate, run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, said its operating profit topped $10 billion for the first time, thanks to strong performances from its insurance businesses and investments. Berkshire’s net income also rose to $35.9 billion, reflecting unrealized gains on investments such as Apple, whose stock price rose 17.6% in the quarter.

Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting of shareholders on May 8, 2023

Jonathan Stempel for Reuters:

In its second-quarter earnings report on Saturday, Berkshire said rising interest rates boosted profit from fixed-income investments, including a cash stake that grew to $147.4 billion, while fewer accident claims bolstered Geico car insurance.

That helped offset declining profit at the BNSF railroad, and lower earnings from building products companies such as Clayton Homes as well as consumer businesses such as Forest River recreational vehicles and Duracell batteries.

Berkshire owned $177.6 billion of [AAPL] shares at the end of June.

Class A shares of Berkshire rose $18,320 to $551,920 on Monday, giving Berkshire a market value of about $799 billion.

The shares earlier reached $555,800, surpassing the previous high $544,000 set on March 28, 2022.

Buffett owns about 15% of Berkshire’s stock. He passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Monday to become the world’s fifth-richest person, with a $121.5 billion fortune, according to Forbes magazine.

MacDailyNews Take: And when Apple pays out its quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share on August 17, 2023, Buffett and Berkshire will get even richer.

You should never forget two things: First, widespread fear is your friend as an investor, because it serves up bargain purchases. Second, personal fear is your enemy. It will also be unwarranted. Investors who avoid high and unnecessary costs and simply sit for an extended period with a collection of large, conservatively-financed American businesses will almost certainly do well. — Warren Buffett

Some people are more subject to fear than others. It’s like the virus — it strikes some people with much greater ferocity than others. Some people can handle it psychologically. If you can’t, then you really shouldn’t own stocks, because you’re going to buy and sell them at the wrong time. — Warren Buffett

Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. — Warren Buffett

Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!

Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.