Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway posts $ 10 billion gain on 4 stocks as Pfizer vaccine sparks market surge

• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway on Monday racked up a gain of $ 10 billion on the four largest holdings in its stock portfolio.
• The billionaire investor’s company earned up to $ 3 billion each from Apple, Bank of America and American Express, plus an additional $ 1.5 billion from its Coca-Cola stock, after the announcement of Pfizer’s promising COVID-19 vaccine sparked a large market rally.
• Berkshire’s bias towards financials, industrials and consumer goods has put it hard on widespread lockdowns this year, but its exposure to the “real economy” fueled large portfolio gains on Monday.
• The conglomerate’s holdings in JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard and other companies have also appreciated.
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway posted a $ 10 billion gain on the four biggest holdings in its equity portfolio on Monday, as news of the effectiveness of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine pushed their prices up.

Apple stock rose 2.8%, increasing the value of some 981 million Berkshire shares in the tech titan to more than $ 3 billion. Berkshire’s second stake, Bank of America, climbed 12%, generating an additional $ 3 billion in paper-based earnings for the conglomerate.

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Coca-Cola shares jumped 8%, increasing the value of the $ 400 million Berkshire shares in the $ 1.5 billion beverage giant. Finally, American Express climbed 20%, adding an additional $ 3 billion to Berkshire’s earnings.

Excluding Apple, Berkshire’s portfolio is dominated by financials, consumer goods and industrials, all of which have been hit hard by the pandemic. However, his bets on “the real economy” recovered on Monday, as investors bet that an effective vaccine would revitalize the US economy and help traditional industries rebound.

Several other Berkshire holdings also increased in value. For example, the company earned up to $ 400 million and $ 270 million, respectively, on its reduced stakes in Wells Fargo and JPMorgan, with both bank stocks surging about 10%. Berkshire’s stakes in Visa, Mastercard, Synchrony Financial and Suncor Energy also appreciated.