Berkshire Hathaway lags as cash pile continues to grow

Warren Buffett's firm has $128bn of cash

clock • 2 min read

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway suffered its worst performance in a decade relative to the wider US stockmarket as its ever-growing pile of cash continues to drag.

Both Berkshire's voting 'A' shares and non-voting 'B' shares returned just shy of 11% for investors, well short of the S&P 500 index's 31.5%, according to Morningstar data. This is the worst relative performance since 2015, when Berkshire lost more than 12% compared to the S&P's 1.4% gain. In 2018, the firm acheived a 3% gain, well ahead of the S&P's 4.4% loss. The Omaha-based conglomerate currently has a record $128bn on its balance sheet, having refrained from making a large acquisition since buying Precision Castparts for $32bn in 2015. In his letter to investors at the start of...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Equities

Partner Content: Three Minutes With Federated Hermes Limited's Mark Sherlock

Partner Content: Three Minutes With Federated Hermes Limited's Mark Sherlock

What are the prospects for US SMID equities in 2024?

Federated Hermes Limited
clock 20 February 2024 • 1 min read
Partner Insight: Attractive yields but narrow spreads - The credit dilemma

Partner Insight: Attractive yields but narrow spreads - The credit dilemma

Arif Husain, Head of International Fixed Income and Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income at T. Rowe Price
clock 14 February 2024 • 4 min read
Partner Insight: US SMID - Seven questions answered

Partner Insight: US SMID - Seven questions answered

After a bumpy 2023, small- and medium-sized US companies are now in a good place to outperform in 2024, argues fund manager Mark Sherlock.

Federated Hermes
clock 12 February 2024 • 6 min read
Trustpilot