Billionaire Warren Buffett has now missed about $40 billion in gains after selling huge quantities of Berkshire Hathaway’s assets early, according to a new report.
The famed investor reduced Berkshire’s positions by a net $127 billion in 2024, reports Barron’s, making headlines for dumping approximately $100 billion of Apple shares and $10 billion of Bank of America exposure.
Buffett’s Apple sales alone have left about $20 billion on the table.
And Berkshire has whiffed an additional $20 billion in gains when factoring the firm’s years-long departure from the US banking sector, which includes aforementioned sales of BofA as well as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs.
Although Buffett sold early, he’s shored up a record high $311 billion of firepower on the sidelines to deploy if market conditions become appealing to the 94-year-old CEO.
Over the last five years, Berkshire Hathaway’s returns have essentially tracked the S&P 500.
The firm’s stock is up 27% this year, and KBW analyst Meyer Shields says the incoming Trump administration could be a net positive for the firm.
“Trump’s goal is to spur more economic activity, and this should translate to growth at the noninsurance subsidiaries…
[Buffett’s] succession probably means little from an operating perspective but a lot for the investor perception of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett has earned a distinctive place in the pantheon of investors and business leaders.”
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