Berkshire Hathaway, the massive conglomerate directed by Warren Buffett, reached a $1 trillion market value on Wednesday, making it the first non-technology company to reach that mark.
Berkshire’s Class A shares, already the most expensive stock on Wall Street, rose to $699,512 per share at one point Wednesday morning.
Six U.S. companies crossed the $1 trillion line before Berkshire: Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Facebook’s parent company Meta.
Berkshire shares rose Wednesday after the company declared a sale of about 25 million Bank of America shares worth around $1 billion. Buffett has been steadily selling Bank of America shares since July, dumping about 116 million in the past two months. However, Berkshire Hathaway still owns 12% of the nationwide lender headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.
Buffett generally keeps his investments close to the vest — and almost never explains exactly why he makes a specific move — but the Securities and Exchange Commission requires Berkshire to disclose Bank of America transactions because it owns more than 10% of the company.
Even though Berkshire has been dumping millions of Bank of America shares, the bank remains Buffett’s third-largest position, behind only Apple and American Express..
When Buffett took over Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, the company was an unremarkable textile manufacturer that had been operating since the 1830s. Buffett and his right-hand man, the late Charlie Munger, turned the company into an enormous conglomerate, with its holdings ranging from Geico insurance to BNSF railroad to Dairy Queen.
In addition to the businesses it operates, Berkshire also has massive investments in numerous companies, and many people look to the company for investing advice and as a barometer of the American economy.
“Berkshire has achieved this through a conglomerate structure, a model that many view as ‘archaic,’ as corporations have increasingly moved to specialization over the decades,” Berkshire analyst Andrew Kligerman told CNBC.
Buffett, who turns 94 on Friday, has already named Greg Abel, 62, his successor as chairman and CEO of Berkshire. Though Buffett has donated massive chunks of Berkshire stock to charity in recent decades, he still retains ownership of about 16% of its shares, the largest chunk for an individual investor.
With News Wire Services
