What’s happening ?
Buy TSMC Sell TSMC
Buy Verizon Sell Verizon
Buy Pharma Sell Pharma
Buy Airlines Sell Airlines
Buy Banks Sell Banks
Buy Oracle Sell Oracle
It seems like he is getting cold feet after he buys it and questions his original thesis. Fundamentals don’t change that quickly. I don’t think he did this earlier in his career.
“When the Facts Change, I Change My Mind. What Do You Do, Sir?”-Keynes
Warren/BRK have conservatively compounded my BRK returns at 13% per year since my initial investment and have earned my trust in these types of equity moves/be it changes that are geopolitical, interest rates, risk/reward, changing certainty of cash return or maybe he simply changed his mind upon further review. He has earned trust of partners and the overall results have been terrific. Long-term ownership such as GEICO, BNSF or Apple, KO and AXP have been home runs. I think CVX and OXY will turn out quite nicely as well.
Look back thru the Annual reports and notice turnover is not all that uncommon. It has worked out quite nicely. The equities performance is interesting and sizable, but the normalized predictable compounding earnings from the operating businesses however is my main focus. Compounding of big numbers is a beautiful thing and BRK is a great example and built to last.
Without actually slogging through them, my memory is that there has always been turnover but recently it has increased (fairly dramatically) on the same issues. It used to be that things were bought, held for a while, then divested as the story changed (the market changed, the need for cash changed, etc.)
There are multiple instances recently of something being bought and turned around and dumped remarkably quickly, and often without explanation. That does seem “new”, at least to me.