Good morning and welcome to the last month of 2024. As Adoption of artificial intelligence accelerated this year, the technology group of stocks known as Seven Magnificent was often in the center of attention. But holding company Berkshire Hathaway is giving big tech a run for its money.
At the age of 94, Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, number 5 in Fortune 500continues to interest the business world in what it buys or sells. Firm market capitalization reached above $1 trillion a few months ago, and sits just below Tesla and above Taiwan Semiconductor. However, Buffett’s company is recognizable for some of its holdings. It is owned by Geico Insurance and also owns the brands Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen and BNSF Railroad who became household names more than half a century ago.
In the new one Wealth articlemy colleague Geoff Colvin writes that nine of the 10 most valuable US publicly traded companies are technology companies led by Apple (no. 1) i Nvidia (No. 2), together with Microsoft, Alphabetand more. And then—there it is Berkshire Hathaway. The company’s market capitalization is also better than all other non-tech companies. Walmart it would have to gain 41% more value just to match Berkshire’s market cap, he explains.
“So far in this year of tech infatuation, Berkshire shares have outperformed Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet,” Colvin writes. “He beat the technicians Nasdaq like the S&P, Dowand the Russell 2000. It’s hard to remember CEO Warren Buffett telling his shareholders last February: ‘Overall, we have Not the possibility of an eye-popping performance.’”
However, market capitalization is not Buffett’s preferred way of valuing a company. “Market cap measures market expectations, not measurable financial results, and as Buffett often notes, Mr. Market has mood swings,” Colvin writes.
To learn more about Buffett’s favorite financial metric, along with the business bromides he despises, read on Colvin’s full analysis here.
Buffett, who has definitely created an investment legacy, recently began to reflect on his life at the age of 25. letter to shareholders.
“Father’s time always wins,” writes Buffett. “But he can be fickle—indeed unjust and even cruel—sometimes terminating life at birth or soon after, while at other times he waits a century or so before visiting. I’ve been very lucky so far, but soon he will pass me by.”
Buffett revealed that he will distribute an additional billion dollars to his family’s foundations. This coincides with his long-standing promise to give away more than 99% its values.
Sheryl Estrada
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Leaderboard
Benoît Fouilland was appointed the financial director of the company Celonisa process mining and process intelligence company, as of December 1st. Fouilland has more than three decades of experience in finance and executive management. He joins Celonis from Contentsquare, where he served as CFO. Prior to that, he was CFO of Firmenich, a fragrance and flavor company where he was a customer of Celonis. Prior to Firmenich, Fouilland was CFO at Criteo SA, SAP AG and Business Objects SA.
Michael Buttstedt was appointed financial director in Allianz partnersinsurance and assistance company. With more than 25 years at Allianz Group, Buttstedt joins Allianz Partners from his most recent role at Allianz Italy, where he was CFO for four years. Prior to that, he was Chief Risk Officer for five years. Buttstedt has held a number of senior positions at Allianz Group, including Chief Risk Officer at Allianz Switzerland and Group Risk Officer at Allianz SE.
Big deal
U.S. job activity is showing continued recovery after fluctuations seen over the past three years, according to EY-Parthenon Deal Barometer for the end of 2024. EY experts in macroeconomics predict that in 2025 the volume of M&A deals in the US will grow by 10% year over year. In terms of private equity, M&A experts forecast growth of 16% in 2025.
After slowing in the second half of 2024, EY’s Deal Barometer estimates that corporate M&A volume (for deals over $100 million) will gradually pick up, rising 8% in 2025 after a likely 11% increase in 2024. With 830 deals year-to-date through September, the Deal Barometer predicts around 1,080 deals in 2024 and around 1,170 deals in in 2025
Going deeper
WealthThe finance team came together to come up with stock ideas for the coming year, culminating in the report “5 investment trends for 2025 — and 15 stocks to help you bet on them.”
We started by identifying five trends and then picked three companies that will ride each of those waves in 2025. In some cases, our picks reflect ongoing advances in technology. Other trends such as geopolitical risk, which has the greatest potential for disruption—and health and well-being reflect broader political and social changes.
Overheard
“Travel has always been an extremely competitive business. Everyone is always trying to find more sources of income.”
— Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel told Wealth in the interview. Fogel chairs all of the travel company’s brands, including Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak, Agoda and OpenTable, among others.
