Topline
Shares of billionaire Warren Buffett’s investing conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, continued to their new year rally on Thursday, bringing the company’s market value to a new high of over $700 billion—and putting it within reach of the trillion-dollar milestone.
Berkshire’s stock sits near all-time highs, rising over 4% so far this week.
Key Facts
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway rose over 1% on Thursday, rallying for a fourth straight day as investors continue to rotate out of high growth stocks and into safer bets.
Berkshire Class B shares have risen more than 4% in the first week of 2022 and now sit near all-time highs, giving the company a market valuation of more than $700 billion.
The Oracle of Omaha’s famed investing conglomerate owns a portfolio of more than 60 companies including Geico, Duracell and Dairy Queen; It also has a sizable stake in tech giant Apple.
Berkshire may now be on its way to becoming the next trillion-dollar company, joining the likes of Tesla (worth $1.07 trillion), Amazon ($1.66 trillion), Microsoft ($2.37 trillion) and Apple ($2.84 trillion).
With the Federal Reserve set to more aggressively cut back on its pandemic-era stimulus and raise interest rates this year, Berkshire Hathaway has benefitted amid a wider market rotation into value and cyclical stocks that benefit from a successful economic recovery.
Berkshire’s stock rose 30% last year, slightly outperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index’s 27% gain.
Surprising Fact:
As bond yields spike, investors have dumped companies with high valuations and uncertain profitability outlooks, putting high-growth stocks under pressure in recent weeks. Hedge funds are selling growth-oriented tech stocks at the fastest clip in over a decade, according to recent data from Goldman Sachs. Shares of technology and other high-growth companies are particularly affected by rising bond yields, as that means higher debt costs which can hinder cash flow growth. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index is down more than 3% to kickoff the first week of 2022, underperforming the broader S&P 500.
Big Number: $114 Billion
That’s how much Buffett is worth, according to Forbes’ estimates. The eighth richest person in the world—who has pledged to give the majority of his fortune away to charity, saw his net worth jump $1.4 billion on Thursday.
Further Reading:
Stocks Plunge After Fed Minutes Show Central Bank Could Remove More Stimulus (Forbes)
Cathie Wood Doubles Down On Growth Stocks After Fund Loses A Fifth Of Its Value In 2021 (Forbes)
Stocks Rally To Jump-Start 2022, Tesla Surges And Apple Hits $3 Trillion (Forbes)
10 Great Stock Picks For 2022 From Top-Performing Fund Managers (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2022/01/06/warren-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-hits-all-time-high-at-700-billion-market-valuation/