Warren Buffett is the head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 1.53%) (BRK.B 1.31%). Since 1965, he has steered the investment company to a mind-boggling return of 4,384,748%, which could have turned $1,000 into more than $43 million. By comparison, the same investment in the S&P 500 would have returned just $312,230 over the same period.
Berkshire wholly owns a number of private companies, like GEICO, Dairy Queen, and Duracell. But it also manages a portfolio of 47 publicly-listed stocks and securities worth $372.3 billion, which includes holdings in Apple, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America.
Berkshire spent approximately $38 billion accumulating shares of Apple since 2016. It has sold some along the way, but its holding is now worth a whopping $150.2 billion, representing 40.3% of the conglomerate's portfolio. It's Berkshire's largest position by a wide margin.
However, it spent almost twice as much -- $75 billion -- buying shares of another company between 2018 and 2023: Berkshire Hathaway.
Stock buybacks are a popular way for companies to return capital to shareholders. Berkshire was sitting on a $189 billion cash pile as of Mar. 31, and it's not easy for a company this size to find quality investments large enough to move the needle. As a result, Buffett has opted to spend some of it on buybacks.
Berkshire spent a further $2.6 billion buying back stock during the first quarter of 2024, bringing the total to $77.5 billion since 2018. And it will probably continue to repurchase shares for the foreseeable future.
You might say Buffett is betting billions of dollars on himself. With his stellar 58-year track record, why wouldn't he?
