Warren Buffett has bought stakes in three companies, after hoarding cash for most of 2024.
The 94-year-old investor’s company Berkshire Hathaway had a cash stockpile of $325 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2024.
But recently, Berkshire and Buffett scooped up $563 million of stock in Occidental Petroleum, Sirius XM and VeriSign, according to The Motley Fool.
Berkshire had to disclose these purchases as it already holds more than a 10 percent stake in each company.
The company purchased roughly $405 million-worth of stock in domestic oil company Occidental Petroleum, around $113 million in broadcasting corporation Sirius XM, and about $45 million in VeriSign, which is a provider of domain name registry services.
None of these stocks had performed well this year, despite the wider market being up close to 26 percent, but Occidental Petroleum and VeriSign jumped on the news of Berkshire’s purchase.
It comes after Wall Street watchers had questioned whether Buffett thought the market was overvalued, as he sold billions in Apple and Bank of America stock and his cash reserve swelled to the highest percentage since 1990.
Some thought he may be wary of a stock market crash, while others thought he could be waiting to make a major acquisition at the right time and with the right value.
Warren Buffett has bought stakes in three companies, after hoarding cash for most of 2024
The three stocks are classic value plays that Buffett and Berkshire have had a propensity to own, often with much success, The Motley Fool reported.
Buffett, and his late business partner Charlie Munger, have always been focused on holding stocks over a long period of time – rather than trying to time the market.
Occidental Petroleum has struggled due to falling oil prices and a bleak outlook for oil in 2025.
However it is clear that the legendary investor feels differently about the direction of oil, at least in the long term, and the stock is up almost 5 percent in the last five days.
Sirius XM, which provides satellite radio and online radio services, has also struggled, but is now investing heavily in its podcast platform.
VeriSign, meanwhile, which is also a global provider of internet infrastructure, has underperformed due to regulatory concerns and questions about its market and future growth, according to the outlet.
Its stock, however, is up 3.89 percent in the last five days.
Occidental Petroleum stock has risen almost 5 percent in the last five days
Berkshire bought around $113 million in broadcasting corporation Sirius XM, which hosts radio shows such as The Ramsey Show
Warren Buffett had stockpiled cash instead of diving into the record-breaking rally following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election
It is possible that Buffett is beginning to see buying opportunities, The Motley Fool reported, with all three stocks trading at fairly reasonable valuations.
After soaring to record highs following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election last month, the stock market has been more volatile in the last several weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently declined for 10 consecutive days, and the S&P 500 also fell over 2 percent last week.
It comes after a veteran fund manager claimed America’s ‘addiction to government debt’ is its fatal flaw – and could lead to a stock market crash next year.
Ruchir Sharma, who is an author and fund manager, said attempts to rein in the debt – now at a record $36 trillion – will eventually weaken economic growth.
Sharma, who is chairman of Rockefeller International and worked at Morgan Stanley for 25 years, made the comments in a column for the Financial Times.
He had previously said that the US financial market has grown into ‘the mother of all bubbles’, which is due to pop soon.
