Warren Buffett is the head of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B). Since 1965, he has steered the investment firm to a staggering 4,384,748% return, which could have turned $1,000 into more than $43 million. For comparison: the same investment in the S&P500 would have returned only $312,230 during the same period.
Berkshire wholly owns a number of private companies, such as GEICO, Dairy Queen and Duracell. But it also manages a portfolio of 47 publicly traded stocks and securities worth $372.3 billion, including holdings in Apple, Coca-ColaAnd bank of America.
Berkshire has spent about $38 billion accumulating Apple stock since 2016. It has sold some along the way, but its stake is now worth a whopping $150.2 billion, representing 40.3% of the conglomerate’s portfolio. It is Berkshire’s largest position by a wide margin.
However, it spent almost twice as much ($75 billion) between 2018 and 2023 buying shares of another company: Berkshire Hathaway.
Stock buybacks are a popular way for companies to return capital to shareholders. Berkshire was sitting on a $189 billion pile as of March 31, and it’s not easy for a company of this size to find quality investments big enough to move the needle. As a result, Buffett has chosen to spend some of it on buybacks.
Berkshire spent another $2.6 billion on share buybacks in the first quarter of 2024, bringing the total since 2018 to $77.5 billion. And the company will likely continue to buy back shares for the foreseeable future.
You could say that Buffett is betting billions of dollars on himself. Why wouldn’t he, with his excellent record of 58 years?
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Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Anthony Di Pizio has no positions in the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool holds positions in and recommends Apple, Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has spent $77.5 billion buying this stock since 2018, originally published by The Motley Fool
