(New York) Businessman Warren Buffett revealed on Saturday that he had invested billions of dollars in Chevron in the first quarter and, during his company’s annual general meeting, sent pikes to Wall Street.
Posted at 12:10 p.m.
The 91-year-old multi-billionaire was answering questions from Berkshire Hattaway shareholders alongside his right-hand man Charlie Munger, 98, at a meeting held for the first time since 2019 in person in Omaha, North Nebraska.
The group took advantage of the weakness in markets jostled by the war in Ukraine and the fear of a slowing economy to buy more than 51 billion dollars of shares between January and March, notably increasing its stake in Chevron from 4.5 billion at the end of 2021 to 26 billion at the end of March.
The oil major is now part of the company’s top 4 investments alongside American Express, Apple and Bank of America. Mr. Buffett also explained to his shareholders that he bought 14% of Occidental Petroleum in two weeks.
His company has also bought since the beginning of the year 11% of the manufacturer of computers and printers HP, and announced the takeover of the insurance company Alleghany for 11.6 billion dollars.
Result: Berkshire’s war chest melted from 147 to 106 billion dollars over the period.
Berkshire “will always have plenty of cash” readily available to protect against bad weather, Buffett said.
He also took advantage of being on the podium to throw a few spades at Wall Street where, he believes, “they make a lot more money when people bet like in the casino than when they invest”.
His sidekick Charlie Munger for his part mocked financial advisors, bitcoin and the trading app Robinhood.
He also derided the shareholders’ proposal to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive of Berkshire, calling it “the most ridiculous criticism he’s heard.”
“It is as if Odysseus were returning from his victory in the Trojan War. […] and a stranger telling him ‘I don’t like the way you held your spear when you won that battle’”.
Shareholders will vote at the end of the afternoon on the resolutions of the general meeting.
Berkshire saw its net profit drop 53% in the first quarter to $5.5 billion.
Operating profits from businesses the company owns, which range from insurance companies to trains to energy to frozen desserts, remained broadly flat at $7.04 billion. .
Falling profits from insurance were offset by profits from railroads, energy, manufacturing, services and sales, a statement said.
But the value of investments made by the company in the markets, which can be highly volatile from quarter to quarter, have plunged in the wake of weak markets since the start of the year, leading to a loss on paper. of $1.58 billion. Warren Buffett regularly advises his shareholders not to take into account his quarterly fluctuations, downwards or upwards.
Berkshire’s stock value itself has held up well, up 7% year-to-date, while the S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest Wall Street companies, lost more than 13%.