Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Loses $ 4.3 Billion In One Day

Legendary investor Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway took a $ 4 billion hit on Friday, after one of the holding company’s biggest investments, food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz, plunged further 25% to a record high.
Kraft Heinz, known for its ketchup and macaroni and cheese among many other packaged foods, said Thursday it would cut its dividend by more than a third – and also revealed it had received a subpoena from the SEC on its accounting practices. The company posted $ 12.6 billion quarterly loss after depreciating the value of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands in over $ 15 billion.
On Friday afternoon, Kraft Heinz shares were trading at $ 34.87, down more than 27% from Thursday’s closing price of $ 48.11. The drop took the total market value of Kraft Heinz to $ 42.8 billion, from $ 58.8 billion. Berkshire owns 27% – or 325 million shares – of Kraft Heinz, making it Buffett’s sixth-largest stake behind stocks like Apple and Coca-Cola. Berkshire’s share of losses is equivalent to about $ 4.3 billion.
The Oracle of Omaha is revered for its bargain-based buying strategy, especially with investments in family brands and businesses with consistent cash flow. However, Berkshire’s staple consumer holdings haven’t necessarily paid off in recent years as consumers increasingly turn to healthier food and drink options. Despite grim 2019 projections for both companies, Buffett defended his investments. He told CNBC last year: “If you take Heinz Ketchup, it’s very, very, very difficult to take shares out of Heinz Ketchup. It’s hard to get shares of Philadelphia Cream Cheese… They’re still very, very good companies. “
The losses of Kraft Heinz will likely impact Berkshire Hathaway’s profits. Barclays analyst Jay Gelb, for example, reduced its profit estimates for Berkshire by half, although it did not reduce the price target. Overall, Berkshire faces increasing pressure as its the stock did not particularly outperform the average returns of the S&P 500 over the past decade.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Berkshire’s fourth quarter earnings report and Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders due on Saturday.