Say No To Trading
Public Markets Investor, Opportunistic Buying & Cost-Basis Management
Property and casualty insurers such as Progressive and Kinsale are much better buys than Berkshire Hathaway, whose Buffett premium is evaporating. Almost any insurance stock or broker is a better deal now. Around $470, Berkshire is only a nibble and a slightly better option than the S&P 500, though it should sell off less in a bad market drawdown. x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway is a better holding than the S&P 500 right now, offering both higher returns and a higher margin of safety. x.com x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway benefits from a flight to low-beta quality stocks that are not burdening themselves with AI debt. Its shares are up 10% in October, while three of its largest holdings, Apple, Coca-Cola and Chevron, have been surging. Boring pays. x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway's capital allocation has changed for the worse under new leadership, as its $8.5B all-cash Taylor Morrison acquisition buys a homebuilder just as home prices reverse, new homes lose their premium and goods and commodity inflation takes off. Its large Alphabet stake looks similarly unwise. x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway is built for long-term survival rather than maximum returns, earning a Risk Shield rating of 95/100 that puts it in the top 5% of stocks globally. Growth is average and quality only slightly above average, but the balance sheet holds a record $397 billion of cash, 31% of total assets, with negative net debt, low beta and low volatility. x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway is worth accumulating because its insurance float and $324.9B Treasury bill pile pay it to wait for an opportunity, so higher rates bring income and leverage over whoever runs out of cash first. It passes the Second Paycheck Test at unmatched scale, with $177.5B of float. Rate gains alone are small, about $642M after tax per quarter point, and GEICO's underwriting profit fell 45%. Management bought about $4.5B of stock near 1.4x book; at 1.48x, accumulate, don't chase. x.com … Show more
Berkshire Hathaway offers no edge over simply owning the S&P 500. Its supposed defensiveness does not hold up, since both fell over 50% in the financial crisis and over 30% in 2020. Investors worried about a recession can keep some cash themselves rather than rely on Berkshire's cash pile. x.com x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway is a hedge against the market in current conditions, not a vehicle to beat it, which explains its nearly $400B in cash and treasuries. x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway's contrarian case rests on cash and diversified businesses, but its immediately distributable cash is closer to ~$179B than $300B. A key open question is whether its insurance subsidiaries are accumulating correlated risks that could produce a simultaneous worst-case loss, though Buffett and Jain are presumably on top of it. The case still includes businesses largely outside the AI paradigm, hard assets like power and rail with rising AI demand, and poor sentiment. x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway's recent bets show impressive mental dexterity, but they are still small dollars for a company its size. It bought Alphabet above its long-term average multiple, at more than twice its price of a year earlier, perhaps the highest multiple Berkshire has paid for an investment that size, apparently betting on good returns from roughly $200B of growing AI capex. It also bought Delta despite Buffett calling airlines a mistake after COVID. x.com x.comÂ
Berkshire Hathaway is an attractive hedge against speculative holdings because its fortress balance sheet gives it optionality either way. If markets do well, it cruises with existing assets and collects yield on its cash. If markets drop, it can buy the dip like no other. x.com x.com x.com x.comÂ
