Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sees profit rise on stock market charge
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said that a surge in prices of stocks like Apple had taken the investment firm to a profit of $36bn.
The Nebraska-headquartered firm said that quarterly income rose 14 per cent to $5bn, while net income jumped 23 per cent to $35.8bn.
The firm has been the beneficiary of a stock market rally that has seen US equities consistently hit new highs for several months.
In his annual letter to shareholders, Buffett, widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost stockpickers, hailed the US economy.
“Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking. Our unwavering conclusion: Never bet against America”, he wrote.
He added that the firm owns the biggest amount of US assets by value than any other company in the country.
Berkshire, whose shares trailed the broader market over the last decade and significantly in 2019 and 2020, repurchased about $9bn of stock in the quarter, a sign Buffett considers his firm undervalued.
For all of 2020, Berkshire said it bought back $24.7bn of its own stock, topping its old record $5bn in 2019.