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Minority Stock Positions Stock Portfolio

BYD Passes Tesla in Global EV Sales

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD sold a company record 134,036 new energy vehicles in June, as it moved passed Tesla as the global EV sales leader.

BYD sold 641,000 vehicles since January, and is aiming to sell 1.5 million EVs in 2022, which would more than double its 2021 sales.

BYD has also passed South Korea’s LG to move into second-place among global producers of EV batteries. BYD is second only to China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL).

In mid-June, BYD’s board approved a 33 percent rise in the share price the new energy company can pay to buy back its shares. The company can now pay up to 400 yuan each for shares repurchased from the open market.

The increase in purchase price comes as BYD’s share price is flirting with a new all-time high that has seen its market value move the company into third place among global automakers ahead of Volkswagen.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $7.69 billion as of December 31, 2021.

© 2022 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 HomeServices

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Expands Presence in Italy

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a global residential real estate brokerage franchise network, has announced its further expansion in Rome, Italy. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices MAGGI Properties Agency has acquired ROMA IMMOBILIARE, a key player in the industry, who has been active in the market for nearly a decade. The brokerage will now operate as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices ROMA IMMOBILIARE.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices ROMA IMMOBILIARE displays know-how and offerings for national and international business expansion. The expertise and vision of future challenges in the market are summed up by its CEO, Francesco Minervini, “All indicators confirm that right now the Capital is the most important bet for national and international investment funds and entrepreneurs. The growing attention is also confirmed by the flow of capital from the global product, service, and hospitality chains. Our extensive experience in real estate in the central areas of the city will be crucial.”

By joining the network, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices ROMA IMMOBILIARE agents gain access to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ active referral and relocation networks, and its “FOREVER Cloud” technology suite, a powerful source for lead generation, marketing support, social media, video production/distribution and more.

The brand also provides an exclusive Luxury Collection marketing program for premier listings. Its Prestige Magazine showcases network members’ premium listings with a strong lineup of feature stories covering topics that appeal to high-end real estate clients.

Christy Budnick, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, commented, “Italy and Rome need no presentation worldwide. The Bel Paese has always garnered incredible and growing interest from foreign investors looking for prestigious solutions. Since our arrival in 2019, our global investors’ enthusiasm for the Roman market and all the “flagship” destinations in the world has been growing steadily. The pandemic crisis and geopolitical instability have created shocks, but luxury does not lose its attractiveness. Our growth continues: joining our network means opening a window of opportunity from around the world.”

Marcus Benussi, Managing Partner & General Counsel of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices MAGGI Properties Agency, emphasized, “We have found the best partner in the Rome market, and we are confident that this expansion will be preparatory to further growth of our network towards the south, which attracts the international audience of investors. We have great ambitions.”

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices ROMA IMMOBILIARE has three offices with plans for continued growth within the area over the next few years and is actively involved in several charity programs, including the Cystic Fibrosis Association. Its team of highly experiences real estate professionals collectively has over a decade of experience to service its clients.

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: It’s Built Into the System That Stocks Get Mispriced

Those who believe in the Efficient Market Theory espouse that a stock’s price always reflect the total information that is known about a company, so it is impossible to “beat the market,” because it is already priced into the stock. Warren Buffett strongly disagrees.

“It’s built into the system that stocks get mispriced,” Warren Buffett said at the 2012 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “I think Berkshire, generally speaking, has come closer to selling around its intrinsic value, over a 47-year period or so, than most large companies. If you look at the range from our high to low in a given year and compare that to the range high and low on a hundred other stocks, I think you’ll find that our stock fluctuates somewhat less than most, which is a good sign. But I will tell you, in the next 20 years, Berkshire will someday be significantly overvalued, and at some points significantly undervalued. And that will be true for Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo and IBM and all of the other securities that I don’t… I just don’t know in which order and at which times.”

Buffett’s full explanation on mispriced stocks

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2022 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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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Grows in Ohio

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a global residential real estate brokerage franchise network, is pleased to announce its further expansion in the state of Ohio with the addition of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Metro & Fields Realty. This addition marks the brand’s continued growth in the state as its 12th franchise company.

“Our company is laser-focused on operating with integrity and supporting our clients with superior services that align seamlessly with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices,” said Lisa Yates, Broker and Owner, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Metro & Fields Realty. “The brand is built on the core values of trust, integrity, stability and longevity, which seamlessly align with our vision and mission.”

With over 24 years of industry experience, Lisa Yates has had the honor of representing a multitude of clients from first-time homebuyers with all the challenges they encounter to selling prestigious and noteworthy properties for the most experienced sellers. The brokerage will service Central and West Central Ohio, including Champaign, Union, Franklin, Clark, Green, Madison and Logan counties.

“I cannot emphasize enough what valuable industry knowledge, and experience Lisa and her team bring to our global brand,” said, Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. “The team has great expertise at the local and regional level, and we are proud to welcome them as a new affiliate.”

By joining the network, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Metro & Fields Realty agents gain access to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ active referral and relocation networks, and its “FOREVER Cloud” technology suite, a powerful source for lead generation, marketing support, social media, video production/distribution and more.
The brand also provides an exclusive Luxury Collection marketing program for premier listings. Its Prestige Magazine showcases network members’ premium listings with a strong lineup of feature stories covering topics that appeal to high-end real estate clients.

Gino Blefari, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, also welcomed the company to the network, “As we expand further throughout Ohio it’s important we align with industry leaders and teams who convey the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices core values seamlessly but execute them even more effortless. Lisa and her team are prime examples of just that.”

The brokerage has plans for continued growth throughout the state of Ohio over the next few years and is actively involved in the community with organizations including Future Farmers of America, the Champaign County Historical Society and Champaign County Preservation Alliance where the team assists in restoring historical buildings and the downtown areas of the county.

© 2022 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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Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz Signs Renewable Energy Agreement With BHE Renewables for US Operations

The Kraft Heinz Company has signed a virtual power purchase agreement with BHE Renewables, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy business, for its operations within the United States, which make up the largest part of the Company’s North America Zone.

This agreement is designed to enable Kraft Heinz to achieve its aspiration of procuring the majority of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, a key focus area of the Company’s net-zero emissions plans.

“As one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, we are committed to contributing to global efforts to reduce the ongoing threat of climate change,” said Kraft Heinz CEO and Board Chair Miguel Patricio. “In 2020, we committed to buy the majority of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025. This agreement with BHE Renewables helps put us on track to accomplish that aspiration and brings us one step closer to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”

By the end of 2022, Kraft Heinz plans to purchase enough renewable energy from BHE Renewables to offset more than 15 percent of the energy usage at its U.S. manufacturing sites; and by the end of 2025, this amount is expected to increase to approximately 60 percent. The renewable energy is planned to come from BHE Renewables’ 158-megawatt Gopher Creek wind farm in Scurry County, TX.

“We are proud to support Kraft Heinz as it carries out its commitment to create a more sustainable environment,” said Steve Rowley, Vice President, Renewable Development and Energy Markets at BHE Renewables. “Kraft Heinz has an ambitious goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and we look forward to working with them to meet their renewable energy needs.”

This agreement is the latest in a series of renewable energy initiatives by the Company, including solar projects at three Kraft Heinz manufacturing sites in China – Qingdao, Foshan, and Shanghai – which are expected to prevent approximately 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year for the next two decades. These initiatives also include Kraft Heinz’s recent vPPA with Repsol in Spain.

Kraft Heinz continues to prioritize environmental stewardship by pursuing renewable energy opportunities around the world through utility-scale power purchase agreements (PPAs) and vPPAs.

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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Stock Portfolio

Berkshire Hathaway-Backed BYD Hits New All-Time High

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD’s stock jumped to a new all-time high on Tuesday, with the share price up a dramatic 15.7 percent in the past month.

Shares of BYDDF jumped +$1.17 (2.92%) to close at $41.42 on June 28, 2022.

BYD shares had been on a dramatic run since 2020, rising from $4.52 on March 20, 2020 to an intraday peak of $43.61. The 52-week low was $21.42.

BYD has been posting strong sales for its plug-in EVs, including selling 105,475 cars in China in April.

In mid-June, BYD’s board approved a 33 percent rise in the share price the new energy company can pay to buy back its shares. The company can now pay up to 400 yuan each for shares repurchased from the open market.

BYD and Berkshire Hathaway

In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $7.69 billion as of December 31, 2021.

© 2022 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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Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz Signs Renewable Energy Agreement With Repsol

The Kraft Heinz Company has signed a 12-year virtual power purchase agreement with Repsol, a global multi-energy company operating across more than 20 countries and based in Madrid, Spain.

This agreement is the Company’s first investment in wind energy and is designed to help Kraft Heinz achieve its aspiration of procuring the majority of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

Kraft Heinz is expected to source over 90 gigawatt hours/year of renewable energy from Spanish producer Repsol’s largest wind project, Delta II (Aragon, Spain) – equivalent to powering approximately 90 percent of Kraft Heinz’s European manufacturing sites, which is the majority of its European load.

The vPPA is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately 25,000 average EU households per year at its peak.

“Our agreement with Repsol is a significant step in our efforts to reduce the impact of climate change,” said Rafael Oliveira, Executive Vice President and President, International Markets at Kraft Heinz. “I am proud of this investment in our International Zone, which we expect to contribute to our global goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and reducing 50 percent of our emissions by 2030, while also helping our industry make the transition to renewable power.”

In 2021, Kraft Heinz announced its goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its operational footprint (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and entire global supply chain (Scope 3) by 2050, reaffirming its commitment to contribute to global efforts to reduce the ongoing threat of climate change.

“This agreement with Kraft Heinz confirms once again the potential and attractiveness of our renewable assets for companies that are looking for guaranteed coverage of their long-term energy needs and, at the same time, obtain greater stability, which favors their competitiveness,” said João Costeira, Repsol’s Executive Director of Low Carbon Generation.

In December 2019, Repsol was the first company in its sector to make a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050. Renewable power generation is one of the pillars of Repsol’s decarbonization strategy: the targets of the company are 20 gigawatts (“GW”) of installed capacity by 2030 and 6 GW by 2025.

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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Berkadia

Berkadia Secures $235 Million in Financing for Multifamily Property in San Jose, California

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkadia, Berkshire Hathaway’s joint venture with Jefferies Financial Group, has secured in $235 million financing for The Woods, a 1,841-unit garden-style multifamily property located in San Jose, California.

Managing Director Andy Ahlers of Berkadia San Francisco secured the $235 million in permanent refinancing on behalf of the borrower, The Woods of San Jose LLC. The deal closed on June 6.

The long-term fixed-rate loan was financed through Freddie Mac.

“Berkadia worked with our lending partners at Freddie Mac to lock this loan’s interest rate back in March, well in advance of the required closing date in June,” said Ahlers. “Given the run-up in rates since March, this offered incredible value to the borrower in terms of interest rate risk mitigation.”

Located at 4300 The Woods Drive, The Woods features studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with private patios or balconies. Community amenities include six swimming pools, multiple fitness centers and a basketball court. Residents are afforded convenient access to Los Lagos Golf Course, Raging Waters San Jose and the shops and restaurants along Monterey Road and East Capital Expressway.

About Berkadia

Founded in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation (now known as Jefferies Financial Group), Berkadia is a third-party commercial mortgage servicer, as well as an approved lender for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD/FHA.

The company is among the top Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily lenders.

Berkadia owes its origins to GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation, which was acquired in 2009 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Christened Capmark Financial, the company had $10 billion of originations in 2008 and a servicing portfolio of more than $360 billion before running into bankruptcy in October 2009.

In a deal approved by the bankruptcy court, Capmark sold its mortgage loan and servicing to the newly formed Berkadia in a deal worth $515 million.

The deal brought Berkshire into the heart of the commercial loan serving business, and the company has one of the largest commercial real estate servicing portfolios.

© 2022 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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Real Estate

Intero Real Estate Scores Top Honors in RealTrends Rankings

(BRK.A), (BRK.B)

Berkshire Hathaway’s Intero, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire’s HomeServices of America, Inc., is pleased to announce recognition of its top 143 individual agents and 27 teams who made the 2022 RealTrends rankings, a state-by-state ranking of the top 1.5% of 1.6 million real estate professionals in the country (America’s Best) and a summary of the top 1,000 independent real estate agents and teams in the United States (RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand).

For The Thousand, three individual agents were recognized in the top 250 Individuals by Sales Volume list, including Eric Fischer-Colbrie (#247), Jordan Mott (#224), and Sean Chen (#180). In addition, two teams from the brokerage made the top 250 Medium Teams by Sales Volume—the Troyer Group (#13) and the top 250 Large Teams by Sales Volume—the Tse Group (#3).

“I am immensely proud of all 143 of our agents and the 27 teams who made the RealTrends rankings and their commitment to excellence,” said Brian Crane, CEO of Intero. “Every year Intero agents demonstrate growth and success in their businesses; this growth reflects their hard work and the Intero culture of training, mentorship and excellence.”

© 2022 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: You Don’t Have to Make It Back the Way You Lost It

Pouring more money into a money losing stock in the hope of making back your losses is not only dangerous, it is unnecessary Warren Buffett says. There are lots of ways to make money and there is no advantage to making your money back on the same stock that you have previously lost money, rather than buying something else.

“It is true that a very important principle in investing is you don’t have to make it back the way you lost it,” Warren Buffett said at the 1995 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “And in fact, it’s usually a mistake to make, try and make it back the way that you lost it.”

Hear Buffett’s full explanation

See the complete Lessons From Warren Buffett series

© 2022 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.