Warren Buffett has done it again.
In the third quarter, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. holding company (NYSE: BRK.A)had its best operating profit ever driven by record earnings from BNSF Railroad, his biggest-ever acquisition. Gains on his stock bets pushed Berkshire Hathaway’s 2019 net income to $52 billion U.S., making it the most profitable public company in the world.
And the legendary investor now has a staggering amount of cash to play with: $128 billion U.S.
Buffett, 89, has built the most valuable public company with a diverse number of businesses in industries ranging from energy and insurance to car dealerships and jewelry.
Buffett’s cash pile climbed again in the quarter, and his liquidity brings him potentially lucrative deals like his third quarter $10 billion U.S. investment in Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) that allowed for a deal with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC). But aside from the Occidental deal, Buffett was a net seller of stocks in the third quarter. And some investors are questioning whether Buffet is being aggressive enough with his cash.
Despite the current success, Berkshire Hathaway’s stock hasn’t kept pace this year with the stock market. Berkshire’s Class A shares are up 5.7% so far in 2019, short of the 22% gain in the S&P 500 Index. Buffett has conceded that the immediate prospects for buying up businesses isn’t good amid what he calls "sky-high stock prices." But Buffet says that he still hungers for an "elephant-sized acquisition."
Related Stories
