BRK-B - Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
| Previous Close | 226.86 |
| Open | 223.70 |
| Bid | 220.92 x 1100 |
| Ask | 223.99 x 1200 |
| Day's Range | 221.11 - 223.90 |
| 52 Week Range | 195.40 - 231.61 |
| Volume | 5,453,964 |
| Avg. Volume | 3,747,683 |
| Market Cap | 543.837B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 0.84 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 0.01 |
| EPS (TTM) | 16,408.39 |
| Earnings Date | N/A |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | N/A |
| 1y Target Est | 237.00 |
- Yahoo Finance
Why Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is a hot stock pick for millennials
Berkshire Hathaway landed on millennials’ top 10 list of investments in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to new research.
- Yahoo Finance
Chipotle, Google, Tesla, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway: Companies to Watch
Chipotle, Google, Tesla, Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway are the companies to watch
- GuruFocus.com
Warren Buffett: Complex Accounting Is a Warning Sign
As with most things, simple is usually better Continue reading...
- Zacks
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) closed at $222.34, marking a -1.99% move from the previous day.
- GuruFocus.com
Warren Buffett's 1974 Advice on Market Selloffs
One of Buffett's first investment interviews Continue reading...
- MarketWatch
Will the stock market be able to support you in your retirement?
How fast will your equity investments grow in coming years? Stocks will have to do the heavy lifting of funding your retirement, in other words. The occasion to revisit this crucial question is the release this past week of new research from the Pew Charitable Trusts on the rates of equity return that are assumed by state pension plans.
- GuruFocus.com
Ray Dalio and Warren Buffett's Contrasting Opinions on Cash
Both views seem to be correct, but investors need to select the one that fits their investment objectives Continue reading...
- TheStreet.com
Kass: Apple Is the Most Consequential Investment That Warren Buffett Ever Made
Consider that The Oracle is currently 89 years old - and that he made his single best portfolio investment in over a half century at 87 years old!
- Bloomberg
Socially Conscious ETFs Have Some Baffling Holes
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Exchange-traded funds that cater to environmental, social and governance principles are being pitched as a way for investors to sleep with peace of mind, but they better be prepared to wake up with something less than dreamy returns.Consider the iShares MSCI USA ESG Select Social Index Fund (SUSA), one of the oldest and largest ESG ETFs on the market. SUSA, which tracks the 100 stocks with the highest ESG ratings, has trailed the S&P 500 Index by 37 percentage points during the past 10 years.(1) (I honed in on SUSA because it has a long-term track record. Most ESG ETFs are very new.) The reason it lagged taps into one of the most important yet underreported aspects of ESG funds: surprising exclusions. While some of the stocks excluded from SUSA are obvious, such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp., some are less obvious, such as Amazon.com Inc., Netflix Inc., Ross Stores Inc. and Mastercard Inc. — all of which are up more than 1,000% during the past 10 years. Not having stocks like these is why SUSA couldn’t keep up with the overall market. Not to pile on here, but SUSA’s underperformance also came with a higher standard deviation, or level of volatility.This potential for underperfomance is why I think investors should take what I call “The Amazon Test” before buying an ESG ETF. It has two parts. The first is to simply ask whether you are willing to miss out on the next Amazon to “clean up” your portfolio. Or even better, if you want to do the leg work, compare the ESG ETF’s holdings to the appropriate broad index and comb through the differences. You may be surprised by what is included in the ETF. (In SUSA’s case, it does hold Facebook Inc. and Nike Inc., which many may find questionable.) I can guarantee investors will probably be a bit baffled.Of course it’s possible that the next Amazon is already in your ESG ETF and that the fund outperforms the market and everyone’s happy. SUSA could very well beat the market during the next 10 years. But investors need to be ready in case it doesn’t.I was curious how people would respond to this question, so I ran an informal Twitter poll and found that only a fifth of people were both interested in ESG and satisfied with missing the next Amazon. That means more than half of ESG-interested investors did not want to miss out on an Amazon, which tends to be excluded from ESG funds because of working conditions that put it on a worker-rights group’s “Dirty Dozen” list of the most dangerous employers in the U.S. Of course, not only highfliers are excluded from many ESG ETFs; so are some of the country’s most revered companies, which many people probably want to own. The best example is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which is included in fewer ESG ETFs than Exxon and is practically excluded from all of them. It’s the second-lowest-ranked company by Sustainalytics(2) among the S&P 100 Index. Essentially, investors can have ESG or Buffett, but not both. So why is Buffett, one of the greatest investors and philanthropists the world has ever seen, not in these funds? One big reason is Berkshire’s board is only 57% independent, well below the 86% average. Buffett has signaled no intention of changing the company’s business practices. He implied the independent board is a poor metric, saying many such boards he has been on are independent on paper only, with many directors just looking for a payday and typically following the CEO’s lead. Buffett has also said he doesn’t want to burden subsidiary companies, one of which operates coal-fired plants, with unnecessary rules and costs.“We’re not going to spend the time of the people at Berkshire Hathaway Energy responding to questionnaires or trying to score better with somebody that is working on that. It’s just, we trust our managers and I think the performance is at least decent and we keep expenses and needless reporting down to a minimum at Berkshire.”Some have pushed back, saying that “surprising exclusions” are nothing new and exist in other areas such as smart-beta and theme ETFs. This is true, but there is one crucial difference: Those ETFs aren’t generally seeking to replace an investor’s entire equity portion of the portfolio. Because if the goal is to “sleep at night,” then what’s the point of putting a small allocation into an ESG ETF while still investing in other funds, like the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which hold those “bad” companies you don’t want?(3)For those who are interested in ESG and don’t mind missing out on the next Amazon, the next part of my test is to ask whether they are willing to curb their consumption of the goods and services provided by those excluded companies. For example, are you going to continue to shop at Amazon, drive an SUV or take airplanes 10 times a year? If so, then what’s the point of not owning those stocks? You are just going to rob yourself of profits you helped create. I did an informal poll on this, too, and found only a fifth of those who were willing to miss out on Amazon were also willing to not shop there. Now, I’m not saying you need to live in the woods and eat bugs to be pure enough to be an ESG investor, but you should probably be willing to make some inconvenient choices as a consumer — because, let’s be honest, that’s where investors can truly make a company pay attention. Otherwise, a lot of this is demand trying to demonize supply to soothe its guilt and feel good inside. At the end of my little screening system here we are left with 5% of the investing world that I’d argue has the stomach and commitment to be messing around with ESG ETFs.(5) The rest either just don’t want ESG or are slacktivists — people who want to feel as if they are doing something but are unwilling to make any inconvenient sacrifices such as lagging the market or curbing parts of their lifestyles. These investors should probably just stick with owning the broad market. And while 5% may seem like a small amount, it would actually be a pretty solid base of investors for these ETFs. To convert that into dollars, 5% of ETF assets would equate to $200 billion, a respectable category. Currently, ESG ETFs have only about one-tenth of that amount. And yet there are about 100 products on the market. That’s $200 million per ETF, which is five to 10 times below the average of many other popular areas. Supply has so far outpaced the hype and demand in a way that’s never been seen in the ETF market.And it doesn’t look as if product proliferation will be slowing anytime soon. BlackRock’s Larry Fink recently announced a doubling of the company’s ESG ETF lineup, which means due diligence will be that much more cumbersome. And while this may come off as a bit of a downer to all the excitement around ESG, that’s not my intention. I’m not anti-ESG at all, but I am anti-nasty surprise. I just want to help make sure investors wake up with peace of mind, too.(1) SUSA has also lagged since inception in 2005 by 33% and by 4% over the past 5 years, though it is outperforming by 1% over the past year. And to show I'm not cherry-picking, the other veteran ESG ETF, the iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF (DSI), has lagged the market by 30 percentage points over the past 10 years.(2) An equal-weighted basket of the 20 stocks in the S&P 100 with the lowest Sustainalytics Ranking outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 41% over the past seven years. Sustainalytics is an ESG research and ratings platform whose scores are used on the Bloomberg Terminal.(3) Now, if investors are seeking ESG ETFs because they think there is some premium to capture that can add alpha to their portfolios and they are only allocating a little, then there is less need for this test (although you can never go wrong with looking under the hood of a fund). But largely, ESG ETFs are being pitched and talked about as a “sleep at night” replacement, or a way to support companies that align with investors’ values.(4) Add in the fact that most people don’t know what ESG even stands for, let alone how the scoring systems (which all vary by the way) work, and you get a situation where the product proliferation and hype has far outpaced the education needed to use them.To contact the author of this story: Eric Balchunas at ebalchunas@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Niemi at dniemi1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Eric Balchunas is an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence focused on exchange-traded funds.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Financial Times
Couple plead guilty to swindling Berkshire Hathaway
A California couple pleaded guilty on Friday in connection with a Ponzi scheme that swindled almost $1bn from American blue-chip companies including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the insurance provider Progressive. Jeff Carpoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in a California federal court, while his wife Paulette admitted to charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit an offence against the US. The couple owned DC Solar, a California-based manufacturer of mobile solar power generators that were used at outdoor concerts, sporting events and on construction sites.
- Reuters
Owners of solar company that caused loss for Buffett plead guilty over Ponzi scheme
Jeff Carpoff, 49, pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Paulette Carpoff, 46, pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.
- Bloomberg
Solar Scammers Plead Guilty After Bilking Berkshire, Others
(Bloomberg) -- The co-owners of a California-based solar company pleaded guilty in connection with an alleged $1 billion Ponzi scheme whose victims include Berkshire Hathaway Inc.Jeff Carpoff pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Sacramento to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to court records. His wife, Paulette Carpoff, admitted to money laundering and conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. Four others with ties to their company, DC Solar, have already pleaded guilty in the case.DC Solar built mobile solar generators for sporting events and music festivals. The company attracted at least a dozen investors in complex deals that raised money through what’s known as tax-equity funds. They included Progressive Corp., East West Bancorp Inc., Valley National Bancorp and Sherwin-Williams. Warren Buffett’s company invested $340 million.DC Solar, however, built and leased only a fraction of the roughly 17,000 mobile units it claimed were in use, authorities said. Instead, DC Solar used money from new investors to pay off old ones, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.The case is the biggest criminal fraud scheme in the history of the Eastern District of California, prosecutors said. Authorities have recovered more than $120 million in forfeited assets in connection to the case.“This is a sad day for the Carpoffs,” Malcolm Segal, a lawyer for Jeff Carpoff, said in a telephone interview. “The business started with the best of intentions.”Berkshire and the other alleged victims didn’t immediately comment.Read More: The Couple Who Feds Say Scammed Berkshire Hathaway for MillionsThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil case Friday against the Carpoffs, accusing them of violating federal securities laws. Proceeds from the fraud fueled the Carpoffs’ personal spending, authorities said. At one point, the couple owned more than 150 cars, including classic Fords and Bentleys. They also owned properties in Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas and the Caribbean and a professional baseball team based in Martinez, California, northeast of San Francisco, authorities said.Earlier this year, the U.S. Marshals Service held an auction for about 150 luxury cars seized from the Carpoffs, including a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am once owned by Burt Reynolds.(Adds SEC charge in ninth paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Eckhouse in New York at beckhouse@bloomberg.net;Katherine Chiglinsky in New York at kchiglinsky@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, ;Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Joe Ryan, Reg GaleFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- GuruFocus.com
Warren Buffett: Cash Is King, Especially in Times of Crisis
Buffett's thoughts on holding cash at Berkshire Continue reading...
- Barrons.com
If You Missed Out on Tesla, Consider This Chinese Car Maker
China is the world’s biggest market for electric cars, and there are more ways than just Tesla to play electric-vehicle demand. Consider Chinese car maker BYD.
- GuruFocus.com
3 Peter Lynch Airlines That Outperformed Markets in 2019
Stocks to consider as Berkshire’s airline holdings report earnings ahead of China coronavirus outbreak Continue reading...
- GuruFocus.com
High Returns From Low Risk: An Investing Paradox
Low-risk stocks outperform high-risk stocks, despite the efficient market hypothesis Continue reading...
- Zacks
Zacks Market Edge Highlights: VEGN, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway
Zacks Market Edge Highlights: VEGN, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway
- Benzinga
Pilot Flying J Changes Name To Capture Totality Of Businesses
Pilot Flying J is changing its corporate name to the Pilot Company, reflecting its expanding petroleum business and the reality of finite growth in new truck stops in the U.S. and Canada, the company said Thursday. Pilot Flying J is changing its corporate name to the Pilot Company, partially to reflect the $29 billion company's growth in the energy sector. "It's actually a way of organizing where we can explain to our 28,000 team members that this is what the company really looks like," CEO Jimmy Haslam, the son of the company founder, said in an interview with FreightWaves.
- GuruFocus.com
Warren Buffett: Focus on a Company's Future Earnings Potential
Advice from Buffett on paying a high price for stocks Continue reading...
- GuruFocus.com
Warren Buffett: Read Books, Don't Play With Spreadsheets
Buffett's advice on research from 1995 Continue reading...
- Zacks
Warning: Do You Know What's in Your ESG ETF?
Many investors buy ETFs in order to get a niche investing strategy, but it may not be what it seems.
- Business Wire
Business Wire DD Test Yahoo Release LOGO #2 (3MB)(01.21.20)
In a release dated December 4, 2019, the fiscal year 2019 adjusted diluted EPS in the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2019 Outlook table was incorrect due to a miscalculation of the adjusted diluted share count. The correct adjusted diluted EPS is $11.42 - $11.54, and the associated % growth vs. prior year is 46% - 48%. All other guidance figures in the table including adjusted net income are correct.
