Six years after Warren Buffett sold off all of Berkshire Hathaway's newspapers and predicted unending declines for most of the industry, Berkshire disclosed a new $350 million investment in The New York Times on Tuesday. The somewhat surprising move highlighted the quarterly update Berkshire filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission about the company's stock holdings in Buffett's last quarter as CEO.
While the position is small for Berkshire, accounting for only about 0.1% of its overall portfolio, it's meaningful for The New York Times. After buying nearly 5.1 million shares of The New York Times Co. during the quarter, the stake is now valued at more than $350 million, representing approximately a 3% stake in the company, which commands a market capitalization of more than $12 billion.
In 2020, Buffett's investing vehicle announced it had acquired positions in five major Japanese trading companies. The stakes were worth slightly more than 5% in each firm, around $6.25 billion in total. At the time, Berkshire Hathaway signaled it was part of a long-term strategy, and the company was open to increasing its stakes under the right circumstances. Fast-forward five years, and the Omaha-based giant did increase its holdings-
Barbara Goodstein, a managing partner at R360, an invitation-only investment and networking group for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, told CNBC on Monday that longtime Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett's impending departure offered a "lot of opportunity" for investors. Buffett, 95, is set to step down as the CEO of Berkshire at the end of 2025 after nearly 60 years in the role. He will be replaced by Greg Abel, who heads the firm's non-insurance businesses and will stay on as its chairman.
Marc Hamburg, the longtime SVP and CFO at Berkshire, will retire on June 1, 2027, after 40 years of service, the massive American conglomerate and holding company announced on Monday. Hamburg, who joined Berkshire in 1987, will be succeeded by Charles C. Chang, who was appointed SVP and CFO effective June 1, 2026. Chang is currently SVP, CFO, and director of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. He will work with Hamburg during a transition period.
Based on the recent 13F filing, we've noticed Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ( NYSE: BRK-B) make significant moves in the third quarter. While the investor owns several artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, he also focuses on dividend-paying stocks. Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL), American Express ( NYSE:AXP), and Bank of America ( NYSE: BAC) form 52% of his portfolio, and here's why I think they're an excellent buy.
If you had put $1,000 into the S&P 500 index at the beginning of those 60 years, you'd now have $441,196-a tremendous reward for doing nothing. But if you had put your $1,000 into Berkshire stock, you would now have a truly incredible $59,681,063. Another way to think of it: If you had invested $20,000 back then, you would today be a billionaire. Without doing a thing.
