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Buffett’s Berkshire sells $3.8 billion worth of Bank of America in 12-day selling spree

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9 months ago

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Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 4, 2024.

CNBC

Warren Buffett is not done selling Bank of America.

Berkshire Hathaway shed a total of 19.2 million BofA shares on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for almost $779 million at an average selling price of $40.52 per share, according to a new regulatory filing.

The conglomerate has now been offloading the bank stock for 12 consecutive days with total sales now exceeding $3.8 billion. Its remaining 942.4 million shares have a market value of $37.2 billion at Thursday’s close of $39.50.

As of Thursday’s close, Bank of America fell to the No.3 spot on Berkshire’s list of top holdings, trailing behind Apple and American Express, which is currently valued at $37.7 billion. Before the selling spree, BofA had long been Berkshire’s second biggest holding.

Berkshire remains the bank’s largest shareholder with a 12.1% stake.

The bank stock has dropped 5.2% so far this week, going as low as $38.98 in Thursday’s trading as recession fears plague the financial sector. Year to date, BofA is up more than 17%, outperforming the S&P 500.

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Buffett famously bought $5 billion worth of BofA’s preferred stock and warrants in 2011 in the aftermath of the financial crisis, shoring up confidence in the embattled lender struggling with losses tied to subprime mortgages. He converted those warrants in 2017, making Berkshire the largest shareholder in BofA, vowing that it would be a “long, long time” before he would sell.

The legendary investor said then that he liked the business, valuation and management of the Charlotte-based bank “very much.”

BofA, under the leadership of Brian Moynihan since 2010, recently reported blowout results for the second quarter that showed rising investment banking and asset management fees as well as a positive outlook on net interest income.

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Wealthy consumers up spending while the rest of America cuts back

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4 hours ago

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April 28, 2025

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Shoppers walk through the King of Prussia Mall, as global markets brace for a hit to trade and growth caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose import tariffs on dozens of countries, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., April 3, 2025.

Rachel Wisniewski | Reuters

America, at the start of 2025, is a tale of two consumers.

Lower-income earners are reining in their transactions to focus on essentials, while the wealthy continue to spend freely on perks including dining out and luxury travel, according to first-quarter results from U.S. credit card lenders.

As anxiety from the opening salvos of President Donald Trump‘s trade policies rippled through the country in recent months, investors and economists have wondered whether declines in consumer sentiment would spill into the real economy. There are some early signs of stress among those who are already more economically vulnerable.

For instance, at Synchrony, which provides store cards for retail brands including Lowe’s and T.J. Maxx, spending fell 4% in the first three months of the year, the company said last week.

That compares to a 6% spending jump at American Express and a similar rise at JPMorgan Chase, both of which cater to wealthier users with higher credit scores than Synchrony. AmEx said its customers spent 7% more on dining and 11% more on first class and business class airfare than a year earlier.

While the “consumer is still in pretty good shape” overall, they are “being selective around how they spend,” Synchrony CEO Brian Doubles told analysts on April 22.

Lower-income card users in particular “started tapering their spend about a year ago,” pulling back on discretionary and big ticket expenses as inflation ate into their buying power, Doubles said.

Falling behind

More Americans were already falling into debt while using their credit cards in the fourth quarter. The share of credit card users making only minimum monthly payments rose to 11.1%, the highest level in 12 years, according Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia data released this month.

But so far, credit card lenders catering to wealthier customers have been insulated from concerns about how tariffs, inflation and a possible recession later this year could impact consumer spending.

“It’s fair to say that the high end has held up better, and the low end has pulled back more,” Brian Foran, a Truist analyst covering banks, said in an email. “It’s been a common theme both speaking to credit card companies, and hearing from most of my colleagues covering consumer and retail.”

The split was also visible at Citigroup, a major player in the credit industry. While spending in the division that provides cards for retailers fell 5% in the quarter, plastic that carries the bank’s own brand — a cohort with higher credit scores — saw spending rise 3%.

Both Citigroup and Bread Financial, another provider of store and co-branded cards like Synchrony, said that consumer behavior shifted toward essentials and away from travel and entertainment on concern that tariffs would raise prices for some goods.

The dynamic boosts spending now, but it could mean weaker demand in the future.

“Consumers are buying more electronics, home furnishing, auto parts,” Bread CFO Perry Beberman said last week.

People are “trying to figure out, are they still going to buy that big TV or are they going to make some other choices if inflation comes through at some of the rates they could,” Beberman said. “That’s the real wildcard here.”

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