Warren Buffett and Greg Abel at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on May 4, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett addressed losses related to bets on Saturday Paramount Worldwideand his reasons for cutting Apple shares by 13%.
Buffett believes that Apple’s reduction in its holdings after the stock price soared in 2023 was partly for tax reasons.
“It doesn’t bother me at all that I’m writing this check, and I really hope that with everything America has done for all of you, it doesn’t bother you that we do this,” Buffett said. “If my sales this year It’s 21%, and we’ll raise it a little bit later, and I think you won’t mind if we sell a little bit of apples this year.”
Buffett also noted that he sold all of Berkshire Hathaway’s shares. Paramount Worldwide – and be fully responsible for the losses.
Buffett said: “This is 100% my decision. We have sold them all and lost a lot of money.” After the company cut about one-third of its holdings in the fourth quarter of last year, as of the end of 2023, The company holds 63.3 million Paramount shares.
Here are Buffett’s best quotes on some of Berkshire’s top stocks.
Coca-Cola, Apple
Buffett says apple and Coca Cola Will remain a top holding in Berkshire’s portfolio.
“That’s why we own American Express, which is a great business. We own Coca-Cola, which is a great business,” Buffett said. “We have Apple, which is a better business, and we will have Apple, American Express and Coca-Cola unless something truly extraordinary happens.”
American Express
The “Oracle of Omaha” highlighted credit card company American Express as another favorite, noting the company’s growing presence in consumer credit.
“I really can’t think of a company with as strong a position and credit card as American Express,” Buffett said. “It has strengthened dramatically over the last 20 years for a number of reasons.”
BYD
Buffett credited his longtime partner Charlie Munger, who died in November, with calling for the acquisition of the two Chinese manufacturing companies. BYD and wholesale retailers Costco — but hopes he can take a larger stake in Costco. Berkshire Hathaway no longer holds shares in Costco.
“Charlie slapped the table with me twice and said, ‘Buy, buy, buy.’ BYD was one of them, and Costco was the other. We bought a certain amount of Costco, and also bought quite a lot of BYD, but in retrospect, he was no longer so I’m aggressive, but I should be even more aggressive at Costco,” Buffett said. “It’s not fatal that we didn’t do it, but [Munger] This is true in both companies.
Cash and Treasury Bills
Buffett told Berkshire Hathaway investors on Saturday that the company’s cash reserves could climb to $200 billion by the end of the quarter.
“Under the current circumstances, I don’t mind building a cash position at all. When I look at the current situation in the stock market and the composition of what is happening in the world, we find it very attractive,” the investor said . “We ended the quarter with $182 billion in cash and Treasury bills, and I think it’s a reasonable assumption that by the end of the quarter they could be around $200 billion.”
