The S&P 500 endured its worst July in 10 years but some stocks are doing just fine, including the first old-economy company to close in on a trillion-dollar valuation – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
The conglomerate has gained 8 per cent over the last month, driving its market capitalisation to almost $950 billion (€880 billion). Disclosure: I own shares in Berkshire.
The only other US trillionaires are all tech stocks – Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta. Unlike the magnificent seven, Berkshire will never be sexy. Nevertheless, it’s now up 20 per cent in 2024, outpacing the S&P 500.
Berkshire’s days of routinely trouncing the market are long gone, but it has nevertheless outperformed the S&P 500 over the last 10- and 15-year periods, bagging annualised returns of 13.3 and 13.7 per cent.
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Buffett turns 94 at the end of August. Doubtless, he won’t lose sleep if Berkshire doesn’t cross the trillion-dollar level in the meantime. Still, it would be a nice way to crown a near 60-year reign at Berkshire, further proof the oracle of Omaha hasn’t lost his investing touch.
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