Berkshire Hathaway Loses Transparency With Size

Berkshire Hathaway Loses Transparency With Size
Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program press conference on Nov. 26, 2013 in Detroit, Mich. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
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                                                                NEWS ANALYSIS

Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., crossed a milestone last week by eclipsing $300 billion in market capitalization.

Class A shares of the investment company rose $1,597, or 0.88 percent, to $183,772 per share on the New York Stock Exchange last Friday, giving the firm a market capitalization of $303 billion.

Buffett’s firm is the fifth largest U.S. company by this metric, trailing in order, Apple Inc., Google Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp., and Microsoft Corp.

Shares Up on Q4 Earnings

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway have risen 3 percent since it announced record fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on March 1.

 

The company was buoyed by the announcement of $19.5 billion in net income and $182 billion in revenues for the year, leading several Wall Street analysts to affirm their “buy” ratings on the stock. The company’s 2014 outlook is also strengthened by higher employment and a housing market recovery.

In a research note, S&P Capital IQ estimated organic operating revenues at Berkshire to rise 5 to 8 percent in 2014 and 8 to 10 percent next year. The firm expects Berkshire’s finances to reflect an improving U.S. economy, given its stakes in the economically sensitive industrial and insurance sectors.

A locomotive sits idle near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Intermodal Facility on Nov. 3, 2009, in Haslet, Texas. The BNSF purchase was one of the biggest acquisitions of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
A locomotive sits idle near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Intermodal Facility on Nov. 3, 2009, in Haslet, Texas. The BNSF purchase was one of the biggest acquisitions of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
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