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Retail

Borsheims Promotes Four on Executive Team

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Jewelry retailer Borsheims, a Berkshire Hathaway company, has announced the promotions of four key members of its executive team–Adrienne Perry, Sean Moore, Julie McAlpine, and Andy Brabec.

These newly created roles will help Borsheims deliver the Signature Service customers have come to know and expect of the luxury retailer and position the company for continued growth and success in the future.

Adrienne Perry has been promoted to Chief Revenue Officer. As CRO, Perry will steward Borsheims’ sales divisions toward continued growth while aligning departments to create a seamless omnichannel experience. Perry has been with Borsheims for 19 years, where she began as a Marketing Specialist before her promotion to Director of Marketing in 2007 and Director of Marketing and Business Sales in 2013. She was most recently promoted in 2019 to Vice President and Officer. Perry is an Omaha native who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from Marquette University. She is a dedicated volunteer with Omaha Performing Arts and the Child Saving Institute, where she was Volunteer of the Year in 2022.

Sean Moore, a 32-year veteran of Borsheims, has been promoted to Vice President of Luxury Sales. In this new role, Moore will continue to use his unmatched expertise in the luxury market to source unique and rare merchandise while working cross-functionally to provide exceptional customer service for Borsheims’ luxury clientele. Moore started his career at Borsheims as a Seasonal Sales Associate before serving as an assistant to Borsheims’ Executive Vice President in 1993. He was promoted to Diamond Buyer in 2001 and became the Director of Sales in 2010. Moore is an Omaha native and an avid Huskers fan who holds a Graduate Gemologist degree from the Gemological Institute of America. He is a board member of the Luxury by JCK and Centurion Jewelry Shows, as well as a longtime volunteer and board member with Junior Achievement.

Julie McAlpine has been promoted to Vice President of Merchandise. McAlpine has successfully directed Borsheims’ buying strategies and inventory for the past eight years and will continue to do so as the VP of Merchandise. McAlpine started her career with Borsheims 25 years ago as a Seasonal Sales Associate. She was promoted to Gift Buyer in 2001 and became the Director of Merchandise in 2015. An Omaha native, McAlpine holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and she is a Gemological Institute of America Graduate Gemologist. She is a board member at Marian High School and a dedicated volunteer with St. Columbkille school and parish.

Andy Brabec has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing and E-commerce. In his new role, Brabec will be responsible for innovating and elevating the Borsheims brand to increase customer acquisition and loyalty. Brabec is a Jewelers of America 20 under 40 award winner with a proven track record of success in the digital space. He started his career at Borsheims in 2016 as the Director of E-commerce before becoming the Director of Marketing and E-commerce in 2019. Brabec is a native of Schuyler, Nebraska, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Doane University, where he was also a starting member of the soccer team and a 4-year letter winner. Brabec is a passionate volunteer with the Team Jack Foundation and an active youth sports coach.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: It Is Easier to Get a Good Price on Piece of a Company Than the Whole Thing

For the vast majority of investors, their holdings represent mere fragments of the corporate landscape, small pieces in a sprawling puzzle. In this realm of small-scale participation, there exists a source of solace. As Warren Buffett sagely observes, take heed that even though your stake may be modest, it has the potential to bear a favorable price tag, one that might surpass the acquisition cost borne by those wielding the means to claim entire companies. So, in this world of fractional ownership, the discerning small investor, with an eye for value, can often secure a more advantageous entry point, savoring a unique advantage amidst the grand tapestry of the market.

“You will never make the kind of buy in a negotiated purchase that you can make via stocks in a weak stock market. It just isn’t going to happen,” Buffett said at the 2019 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “The person on the other side cares too much. Whereas, in the stock market, in a 1973 or 1974, you were dealing with the marginal seller. And whatever price they establish for the business, you could buy it. I couldn’t have bought the entire Washington Post Company for $80 million in 1974. But I could buy 10 percent of it from a bunch of people who were just operating, you know, based on calculating betas or doing something of the sort. And they were in a terrible market. And it was possible to buy a piece of it on that valuation. You never get that kind of buy in a negotiated purchase.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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BYD

Berkshire Hathaway-Backed BYD’s Sales Hits New All-Time High in August

(BYDDF), (BYDDY)

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD’s plug-in EV sales reached a new high for the fourth straight month. The company’s sales for August totaled 274,086 units (up 57.5% year-over-year).

Year to date, BYD has sold 1.78 million passenger plug-in EVs, up 83 percent from the same period in 2022.

The company also set a sales record for exported vehicles, with 25,023 BYD plug-ins exported.

BYD’s EV sales year-to-date:

BEVs: 897,220 +84% (year-over-year)
PHEVs: 886,132 (+82% year-over-year)
Total: 1,783,352 (+83% year-over-year)

BYD is on track to sell more than 3 million EVs in 2023.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Completes Acquisition of Dominion Energy’s Stake in Cove Point LNG

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

On the first day of September, Berkshire Hathaway Energy consummated its acquisition of Dominion Energy’s fifty-percent limited partnership stake in Cove Point LNG, LP. This boosted Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s ownership interest to seventy-five percent. The ownership interest is held within BHE GT&S, LLC, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit.

A subsidiary of BHE GT&S is the general partner and operator of the Cove Point natural gas pipeline and its liquefied natural gas terminal located in Lusby, Maryland. A subsidiary of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners holds the remaining twenty-five percent limited partnership interest in Cove Point LNG, LP.

On July 10, 2023, Berkshire Hathaway Energy announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Dominion Energy’s limited partnership interest in Cove Point LNG, LP, for cash consideration of $3.3 billion.

Paul Ruppert, president of BHE GT&S, said: “We are pleased for this opportunity to own a greater stake in the Cove Point LNG business. BHE GT&S will continue its excellent operating and commercial performance at Cove Point, which plays an important role in Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s delivery of clean, low-cost and sustainable energy solutions to customers and communities.”

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: A Public Opinion Poll Will Not Make You Rich

In the swirling sea of investment advice, a cacophony of opinions echoes from every corner of the financial world—investors, hedge fund maestros, astute analysts, and the clamorous financial media all clamor for your attention. Amidst this tumult, Warren Buffett offers a remarkably simple yet profound prescription: pay heed to none. Instead, he exhorts the discerning investor to embark on their own voyage of financial discovery, to meticulously undertake their own due diligence. In the end, it is not the cacophony of external counsel, but the whispered wisdom of one’s own research that may prove to be the most reliable guide in the labyrinthine realm of stock markets.

“On any given day, two million shares of Coca-Cola may trade. That’s a lot of people selling, a lot of people buying. If you talk to one person, you’d hear one thing, and you’d talk to another — you really should not make decisions in securities based on what other people think,” Warren Buffett said at the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “A public opinion poll will not get you rich on Wall Street. So you really want to stick with businesses that you feel you can somehow evaluate yourself.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

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© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: Investors’ Fortunes are Tied to Business Profits

In the throes of speculative mania, when even the most unprofitable stocks are propelled skyward, it’s all too tempting to lose sight of a fundamental truth: enduring triumph in the realm of investment hinges not on the capricious dance of stock prices but on the bedrock of a company’s profitability. Amidst the frenzy,Warren Buffett points out that the enduring value of an investment is inexorably bound to the prosperity of the underlying business, not the ephemeral whims of the market.

“The only money investors are going to make, in the long run, are what the businesses make,” Buffett said at the 1999 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “I mean, there is nothing added. The government doesn’t throw in anything. You know, nobody’s adding to the pot. People are taking out from the pot, in terms of frictional cost, investment management fees, brokerage commissions and all of that.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
BYD

Byd Posts Record Earnings for First Six Months of 2023

(BYDDF), (BYDDY)

BYD, the Chinese automobile manufacturer backed by Berkshire Hathaway, posted record profits for the first six months of 2023. The company reported a 204.7% jump in profits as compared to the same period in 2022.

BYD, which is China’s largest automaker, reported net profits of 10.95 billion yuan ($1.50 billion) on revenues of 260.12 billion yuan for the period ending June 30.

During the month of June alone, BYD sold an impressive total of 253,046 new energy vehicles, a 5.3% increase over its May sales volume. The total unit sales through June 30 for BYD have reached an impressive figure of almost 1.2 million units, almost double the 641,350 units sold during the first six months of 2022.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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Berkshire Hathaway Energy

Berkshire Hathaway to Supply Solar Power to the Sphere in Las Vegas

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s NV Energy will be powering Las Vegas’s newest entertainment venue, Sphere, with renewable energy. NV Energy and MSG Las Vegas LLC have jointly applied for approval from the Public Utility Commission for a 25-year agreement.

The ground-breaking Sphere is billed as a next-generation entertainment medium that will bring wonder to the world and redefine the future of live entertainment. Sphere will be powered by cutting-edge technologies that ignite the senses and transport audiences to places both real and imagined. The first Sphere venue is currently under construction in Las Vegas and is expected to open in fall 2023. Once open, Sphere will host a wide variety of events, including concerts and residencies from the world’s biggest artists; Sphere Experiences from leading Hollywood creatives; and premier marquee events.

Sphere will be a “model for renewable energy use by entertainment venues around the country,” according to the company.

Rich Claffey, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Sphere, noted, “Just as Sphere is setting a new standard for immersive live entertainment, the venue is also setting an industry standard when it comes to renewable energy. From the outset, we designed Sphere to minimize environmental impact and to help create a sustainable operation well into the future. We’re proud to enter into this agreement with NV Energy and partner with them to achieve both of those important goals.”

An estimated 70% of the power needed by the entertainment venue will be derived from dedicated solar and battery resources.

The new NV Energy solar and battery facility, if approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, will serve Sphere and additional NV Energy customers.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Lessons From Warren Buffett

Lessons From Warren Buffett: It’s Much Easier to Compound a Small Amount of Money

Warren Buffett is an investor that has truly scaled his investments to a size that is almost impossible to conceive. However, Buffett is quick to point out that compounding small sums is much easier than large. And the larger the sum you start with, the harder it become to continue to compound it over time.

“I think, working with a very small sum, that there is an opportunity to earn very high returns,” Buffett said at the 1999 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. “But that advantage disappears very rapidly as the money compounds.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories
Mouser Electronics

Mouser Electronics Added 29 New Manufacturers in First Half of 2023

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Mouser Electronics, Inc. has expand its line card by adding 29 new manufacturers to date in 2023. With more than 1,200 manufacturer brands, Mouser now offers an even wider range of product options for its global customer base of design engineers, component buyers, procurement agents, educators and students.

“We are proud to offer our customers the widest selection of the latest technologies and products from the top electronic component manufacturers,” said Jeff Newell, Mouser Electronics Senior Vice President of Products. “With almost 30 new manufacturers in just the first half of the year, and our continuing expansion into industrial automation and factory control, we are committed to being the industry’s NPI leader and one-stop source for the components and development tools our customers need.”

Mouser’s Global Distribution Center handles a massive inventory of more than 1.1 million unique SKUs for semiconductors and electronic components across all product categories, including embedded, connectors, optoelectronics, passives and more.

Among the new manufacturer partners Mouser has added in 2023 are:

• ATC Automatic Timing & Controls, a manufacturer of highly rugged, high-reliability products that are engineered to provide accurate and repeatable timing and monitoring operations in all types of industrial environments, including factory automation, food processing, packaging, water treatment and many OEM applications.

• Banner Engineering, a leader in industrial automation providing innovative solutions for warehouse and factory sensing, machine safety, and state indication, helping companies increase efficiency, safeguard equipment, and protect personnel.

• Intelligent Memory, a fabless memory manufacturer serving the industrial electronics market. Intelligent Memory’s extensive product portfolio consists of DRAM ICs and modules (from SDR to DDR4) and a variety of managed NAND products for industrial applications.

• XSemi, an IC design company specializing in analog and power semiconductors, primarily focusing on the automotive and industrial sectors.

• EnOcean, a leading developer of wireless energy harvesting technology for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. EnOcean produces maintenance-free wireless switches and sensors, which gain the device’s energy from their surroundings, including movement, light, and temperature.

Since 2020, Mouser has added almost 250 new manufacturers.

© 2023 David Mazor

Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.