I’m in the camp that the $15B in purchases is very interesting and there are not many companies they could buy in this quantity, if in fact it was one company. Buffett acknowledging that he hasn’t spoken to Gates in a while is interesting, could they have bought MSFT in March? Software was falling very hard in March and they didn’t repurchase shares, maybe they were sniffing in this sector.
Hi Frank - Agreed, I'm very intrigued by the $15 billion stock purchase(s). I can't wait for the 13-F on Friday afternoon to see what they bought, if all the Combs holdings were really sold, etc.
That would be really interesting if his comments about Gates were also his way of laying the groundwork that Microsoft stock is back on the table as a potential purchase.
It is easy for us investors to focus simply on the growing pile of cash, ignoring the use of cash over time. In the recent past, around $40 Bil. was use to purchase Apple and Alphabet shares, which have appreciated by some $155 Bil., some of which has been through sales to cash. Shouldn’t that be added to the Treasury return on cash? And shouldn’t those results mute some of our worry of ‘too much’ cash? Cash is serving a valuable purpose at Berkshire!
Point 2 is the one I keep rereading. The 10-Q is unusually direct about why the buyback stays small: the MD&A spells out that Berkshire will not repurchase stock if doing so cuts consolidated cash, equivalents, and Treasury Bills below $30 billion. So the $235 million figure is not Abel losing conviction, it is the policy gate working as written. Worth noting too that the cover page dates the share count to April 14, and it sits basically flat against March 31, which lines up with your read that the repurchases stopped early in the quarter. The filing tells the same story the AGM did, just with a number attached.
Thanks for the article. If my calculation wasn’t wrong, the operating business is valued at around 10x.
I’m in the camp that the $15B in purchases is very interesting and there are not many companies they could buy in this quantity, if in fact it was one company. Buffett acknowledging that he hasn’t spoken to Gates in a while is interesting, could they have bought MSFT in March? Software was falling very hard in March and they didn’t repurchase shares, maybe they were sniffing in this sector.
Hi Frank - Agreed, I'm very intrigued by the $15 billion stock purchase(s). I can't wait for the 13-F on Friday afternoon to see what they bought, if all the Combs holdings were really sold, etc.
That would be really interesting if his comments about Gates were also his way of laying the groundwork that Microsoft stock is back on the table as a potential purchase.
Thanks, Kevin, for another fine summary.
It is easy for us investors to focus simply on the growing pile of cash, ignoring the use of cash over time. In the recent past, around $40 Bil. was use to purchase Apple and Alphabet shares, which have appreciated by some $155 Bil., some of which has been through sales to cash. Shouldn’t that be added to the Treasury return on cash? And shouldn’t those results mute some of our worry of ‘too much’ cash? Cash is serving a valuable purpose at Berkshire!
Thanks Arthur! Much appreciated :)
Point 2 is the one I keep rereading. The 10-Q is unusually direct about why the buyback stays small: the MD&A spells out that Berkshire will not repurchase stock if doing so cuts consolidated cash, equivalents, and Treasury Bills below $30 billion. So the $235 million figure is not Abel losing conviction, it is the policy gate working as written. Worth noting too that the cover page dates the share count to April 14, and it sits basically flat against March 31, which lines up with your read that the repurchases stopped early in the quarter. The filing tells the same story the AGM did, just with a number attached.