Warren Buffett walks the floor ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 3, 2024.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway’s selling streak in its big Bank of America stake has extended to nine straight days, suggesting that Warren Buffett is not just trimming the longtime holding.
The Omaha-based conglomerate sold a total of 18.4 million shares of the bank from Thursday to Monday for $767 million at an average price of $41.65, a new regulatory filing late Monday revealed. Over the past nine trading sessions, Berkshire has cut its stake by 71.2 million shares with just more than $3 billion of sales.
After the selling spree, Berkshire still owns 961.6 million shares of BofA with a market value of $39.5 billion. BofA remains Berkshire’s second-largest equity holding after Apple, but if the conglomerate continues to offload those shares, the bank could fall below third-place American Express, currently valued at $37.6 billion.
Bank of America
Berkshire is still BofA’s largest shareholder with a 12.3% stake. As an owner of more than 10%, Berkshire has two business days to report any transactions, so we won’t know until Thursday if the selling streak continues Tuesday.
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.
Berkshire’s cost basis on the BofA position was about $14.15 per share or $14.6 billion as disclosed at the end of 2021. At the end of March, the holding was worth $39.2 billion. BofA closed Monday at $41.09.
The conglomerate could be taking some profits after BofA’s strong run, culminating in a big year this year. The bank stock has rallied 22% in 2024, outperforming the S&P 500′s 14.5% return.
Berkshire is set to release second-quarter earnings Saturday morning, which will also reveal further info on the conglomerate’s biggest holdings.
A living space in the new J.P. Morgan financial center branch format in Palm Beach.
Courtesy: JP Morgan
JPMorgan Chase thinks it has cracked the code on managing more money for America’s millionaires.
It’s not a new financial product, a novel software program or an enticing sign-up bonus. Instead, it’s a refurbished take on an old concept — the brick-and-mortar bank branch — along with new standards for service that are at the heart of its aspirations.
The bank is unveiling 14 of these new format branches — each acquired when JPMorgan took over First Republic in 2023 — in tony ZIP codes in New York, California, Florida and Massachusetts, including Napa, Palm Beach and Wellesley Hills.
It’s part of JPMorgan’s push to convince affluent Americans, many who already use Chase checking accounts or credit cards, that the bank is ready to manage their millions.
JPMorgan is the country’s biggest bank by deposits and assets and has a top share in areas as disparate as Wall Street trading and retail credit cards. But one of the only major categories where it isn’t a clear leader is in wealth management; peers like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America exceed it there.
While half of the 19 million affluent households in the U.S. bank with JPMorgan, it has just a 10% share of their investing dollars, according to Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking.
“We have this giant opportunity to convince customers to have their wealth management business with us in addition to their deposit relationship,” Roberts said in a recent interview.
Helped by its acquisition of First Republic, which was known for catering to rich families living on either coast, JPMorgan decided to launch a new tier of service. Called J.P. Morgan Private Client, it is anchored by the new physical locations, of which there will be 31 by the end of next year.
The service comes with its own mobile banking app, but its main appeal is the in-person experience: Instead of being handed off to multiple employees like at a Chase branch, J.P. Morgan Private Client members are assigned to a single banker.
“What First Republic did really well was deliver a concierge-level of service where if you have an issue, a person owned it for you and you didn’t have to worry about it,” Roberts said. “So with this experience we are going to deliver a more elevated concierge type of service, like you would expect at a high-end hotel.”
The price of entry: at least $750,000 in deposits and investments, though Roberts said the bank is aiming for those with around $2 million to $3 million in balances.
Quiet opulence
The new locations, dubbed J.P. Morgan Financial Centers, have a warm feel and an earth-tone color palette that intentionally sets them apart from the nearly 5,000 Chase branches operated by the bank.
During a recent visit to a Manhattan location, the vibe is family office-meets hotel, with soaring ceilings, living room-style seating areas and art-filled meeting rooms scattered over two floors.
Gone is the traditional row of bank tellers; there is instead a concierge desk and a solitary ATM machine. Instead of lollipops, visitors are offered squares of Dylan’s chocolate. The space is quiet, except for the crack of a Perrier being opened or the whir of an espresso machine.
JP Morgan’s Palm Beach Reception.
Courtesy: JP Morgan
The design elements and hushed environment are “really meant to illustrate that we’re there to have a more serious, less-transactional conversation about your wealth planning over the course of time,” said Stevie Baron, JPMorgan’s head of affluent banking.
Those conversations involve planning for long-term goals and examining clients’ portfolios to see whether they are on track to reach them, he said.
Elements of the new high-end branch format could find their way to regular Chase branches, especially the 1,000 or so that are in high-income areas, Baron said.
JPMorgan executives have said the bank’s branch network has already succeeded as a feeder into the firm’s wealth management offerings.
The new service tier — which sits above the bank’s Chase Private Client offering, which is for those with at least $150,000 in balances and is delivered in the regular branches — is expected to help JPMorgan’s retail bank double client assets from the $1.08 trillion it reached in March.
“Obviously it’s a big challenge, because clients already have their established wealth managers, but it’s something that we’ve been making really strong progress in,” Roberts said.
Come one, come all
But attempting to create a new, more luxurious brand from a mainstream one — think the difference between Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus — is not without its risks. Or at least, momentary confusion.
So far, the two flagship financial centers in New York and San Francisco opened late last year haven’t seen heavy foot traffic, Roberts admitted.
“Our biggest challenge is that we don’t have people walking in because they don’t really understand what they are,” Roberts said. “So we just need to get the awareness out there.”
While JPMorgan is leaning on the first part of its name, rather than Chase, to signal exclusivity for the new branches, that may deter people from walking through the doors and starting conversations.
“I just want this to be acknowledged: We’re never going to turn someone away. Any customer can come and leverage any of our branches at any time,” Roberts said.
“We want people walking in, having the experience, meeting with our experts and understanding how we can help support their financial goals over time,” she said.
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Newmont — The gold miner’s stock shed 2% alongside the decline in the precious metal’s price. Spot gold, considered a safe haven, was down 1.5% after President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on the European Union. Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose more than 2% after CEO Elon Musk said in a Saturday post on X he will give greater attention to his companies, writing: “I must be super focused on /xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out.” Musk has been criticized for focusing too much on his work with the Trump administration. Tesla has notably suffered due to Musk’s political work, and its Europe April sales were down 49% year-on-year , according to fresh data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. CoreWeave — Shares rose more than 4%, even after the stock got its first Wall Street downgrade since its post-IPO rally. Barclays downgraded CoreWeave to equal weight from overweight on Monday, saying it is optimistic on the stock for the long run but that short-term upside is limited. Informatica , Salesforce — Informatica shares jumped 6.5% on news that the cloud data management company is being acquired by Salesforce, whose shares rose 1%. The deal is valued at $8 billion and is expected to boost Salesforce’s AI component. A deal between the two companies fell apart last year. PDD Holdings — The U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese online retailer tumbled more than 20% after the company posted disappointing first-quarter earnings results , amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China. The parent company of Temu posted revenue of 95.67 billion yuan ($13.28 billion) that fell short of the FactSet consensus estimate of 103.13 billion yuan ($14.32 billion). Trump Media & Technology Group — Shares of the Truth Social parent company jumped about 9% after the Financial Times reported that the company plans to raise $2 billion in fresh equity and $1 billion through a convertible bond, in order to spend on cryptocurrencies. SoundHound AI — Piper Sandler initiated coverage of the AI stock with an overweight rating, leading shares 4.3% higher in early morning trading. The firm highlighted several areas SoundHound can expand its growth runway, including further integration of its conversational AI technology into auto. Champion Homes — Shares of the company, which produces of factory-built housing in North America, slipped 1.5% on the back of lackluster fourth-quarter financial results. Champion posted adjusted earnings of 65 cents per share on revenue of $593.9 million, while analysts polled by FactSet called for earnings of 76 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $595.4 million. Champion also announced an agreement to acquire Iseman Homes, which sells manufactured and modular homes in the Midwest. — CNBC’s Sarah Min, Jesse Pound and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
Xiaomi revealed its first electric SUV, the YU7, in Beijing on May 22, 2025, and said its full launch would be held in July.
Adek Berry | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING — China’s Xiaomi, known for its smartphones, only recently entered the electric-vehicle space. It is now taking aim at Tesla’s bestselling car in China.
Less than a year after launching its first electric car, Xiaomi late on Thursday revealed its YU7 SUV and claimed it would have a driving range of at least 760 kilometers (472 miles) on a single charge.
That’s well above the 719 km advertised for Tesla’s extended-range Model Y. Driving range has been a selling point for consumers worried about frequent battery charging.
“We expect Yu7 would significantly erode Tesla Model-Y’s China market share,” Citi analyst Jeff Chung said in a report Sunday.
Citi expects the YU7 to be priced around 250,000 yuan to 320,000 yuan ($34,700 to $44,420), and forecasts monthly sales of about 30,000 units. Once sales pick up, Citi predicts annual sales of 300,000 to 360,000 units.
That price range pits the YU7 against Tesla’s Model Y, which starts at 263,500 yuan in China. Xiaomi plans to announce the YU7’s price at the car’s official launch in July.
Xiaomi plans to announce the YU7’s price at the car’s official launch in July.
Tesla’s Model Y was the second most sold new energy vehicle in China in the six months through April, according to Autohome, an online platform for consumer information on cars in China. BYD’s far cheaper Seagull ranked first, while the budget Wuling Hongguang Mini ranked third.
For April alone, Geely’s Geome Xingyuan topped the new energy vehicle bestsellers’ list, followed by BYD’s Seagull and the Wuling Hongguan Mini, Autohome data showed. Xiaomi’s SU7 sedan ranked fourth, followed by three BYD models, while Tesla’s Model Y ranked eighth.
Better than Xiaomi’s first car?
The YU7 is positioned as a “luxury SUV” and its sales could outperform that of the SU7, Elinor Leung, managing director of Asia telecom and internet research at CLSA, said in a note.
Last year, Xiaomi released its first electric car, the SU7 sedan, priced $4,000 lower than Tesla’s Model 3 at the time. Tesla subsequently reduced Model 3 price to 235,500 yuan as of May 26 — although it is still more expensive than the SU7 sedan at 215,900 yuan.
Xiaomi delivered more than 28,000 units of its SU7 car in April, down from its record of more than 29,000 during the previous month. That comes after the crash of an SU7 vehicle in China that left three people dead. China has since mandated automakers to be careful with the language when advertising driver-assist systems.
Xiaomi revealed the YU7 on Thursday at the end of a launch event for a premium phone using a new chip that the company claimed beat Apple’s on certain metrics. CNBC was not able to independently verify the claims.
Rival electric car company Xpeng is due Wednesday to release the Max version of its relatively popular Mona M03 car. The Max version includes more advanced driver-assist capabilities. The company previously said the Max would begin deliveries after the Lunar New Year holiday in February.
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