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Warren Buffett in annual letter reports more share buybacks to come this year, says not to ‘bet against America’
Warren Buffett, in his annual letter to shareholders, offered words of encouragement to a struggling country while signaling that more share buybacks are coming. Buffett’s Annual Letter: The letter from the 90-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) was even more anticipated than usual this year, as his influential voice has largely silent since his last letter, which arrived at the very start of the pandemic. Much has happened since, from the controversial election and the fallout that followed, to the arrival of retail investors pushing ‘stonks’, not to mention the meteoric rise of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). Buffett’s lieutenant, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger, spoke on some of these issues on Wednesday. He said that trading in stocks such as GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) was tantamount to “betting on racehorses” and cast doubt on the idea that Bitcoin will ever replace regular currency as the world’s primary medium of exchange. Buffett in his letter did not speak about cryptocurrency or GameStop, but he did touch on the turmoil of the past year, without directly referring to a particular event. He used the stories of companies across the country in which he has invested, such as GEICO and Pilot Travel Centers, to deliver a simple and clear message: “Never bet against America”. (Emphasis in original.) “There has been no incubator to unleash human potential like America. Despite severe disruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking,” he said. written. “Beyond that, we retain our constitutional aspiration to become ‘a more perfect union’. Progress on this front has been slow, uneven and often discouraging. However, we have made progress and will continue to do so. Profits, share buybacks: As for the latest figures on the company’s performance, the letter showed Berkshire made $ 42.5 billion last year, down 48% from 81, $ 4 billion in 2019. This included a loss of $ 11 billion from depreciation at subsidiaries and affiliates, specifically the 2016 purchase of Portland-based metalsmaker Precision Castparts. Oregon. The company does business in the aerospace industry – not the best of last year. In his letter, Buffett said he had paid too much for the company and that the “unfavorable developments” of the last year in the industry made it clear. “I was just too optimistic about PCC’s normalized profit potential,” Buffett wrote. The company spent $ 24.7 billion to buy out the equivalent of 80 998 “A” shares last year, d have $ 9 billion in the fourth quarter. This is likely to continue: “Berkshire has repurchased more shares since the end of the year and is likely to further reduce its number of shares in the future,” Buffett wrote. Berkshire has also, as usual, listed its top holdings by market value. They included Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). Documents filed by Berkshire earlier this month showed the company reduced its positions in Apple while focusing on pharmaceutical, telecommunications and oil companies in the last quarter. Recent Price Action: Berkshire Class B shares closed Friday at $ 240.51, down for the week to 0.54%. Class A shares decreased 0.88% to $ 364,580. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. See more BenzingaClick here for BenzingaBitcoin options trading hit another all-time high 30,000 Macs infected with a newly detected form of malware, dubbed “ Silver Sparrow ” © 2021 Benzinga.com Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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