What happened
Shares of Boston Omaha (BOC 0.52%) were up 16.5% on Tuesday afternoon after The Wall Street Journal highlighted the mini-conglomerate's strategy similarity and familial connection to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B 0.54%) (BRK.A 0.64%) CEO Warren Buffett. As of 3:56 p.m. EST, the stock had settled to an 8.2% gain.
On Friday, the WSJ covered (may require subscription) Boston Omaha, whose co-CEO is Warren Buffett's grandnephew Alex Buffett Rozek. The article noted that shares of Boston Omaha have more than doubled since its initial public offering in June.
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So what
To be fair, the WSJ was also clear that Warren Buffett does not own Boston Omaha stock and has "nothing to do with" the company's relative outperformance. But the so-called Oracle of Omaha did offer some kind words for his younger kin.
"I think the world of Alex, but we don't have anything to do with his decision-making or anything of the sort," Buffett elaborated. "He's got a good mind, a very good mind, and he certainly has good values."
Now what
Arguably most exciting for investors, it seems that Boston Omaha is following Berkshire's proven capital-allocation style with the aim of consistently growing its intrinsic per-share value. The mini-conglomerate currently engages in several industries ranging from billboard advertising to surety insurance and real estate, and has voiced its intention to continue growing through both organic means and strategic acquisitions.
That's not to say Boston Omaha enjoys the same scale as Berkshire. While revenue more than doubled in its most recent quarter, to nearly $2.4 million, that translated to a GAAP net loss of just over $1.5 million, or $0.11 per share. But the company also sat on nearly $103 million in unrestricted cash with no debt at the end of the quarter.
So while this growth story is still in its infancy, it's hardly surprising to see Boston Omaha shares rallying as its increased visibility has the market excited for what's to come.
