Warren Buffett secret stock speculation peaks; mystery to be revealed in Berkshire’s 13-F filing today
Warren Buffett’s mystery stock could get revealed on Thursday. Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, has invested billions of dollars in a stock, but the name of the company is yet to be made public.
Barron’s review of the company’s first and second-quarter filings suggests that this holding might be worth about $5 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway is likely to submit its 13-F report after Thursday’s closing bell.
13-F filings, submitted by institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management, provide detailed information about a company’s equity holdings and recent stock positions. They are required to be submitted 45 days after the end of the most recent quarter, allowing investors to gain insight into the portfolios of big investors.
Berkshire Hathaway Holdings
Top holdings of Berkshire Hathaway include American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and Chevron, along with other significant investments. Smaller investments are categorized into various sectors, including banks, insurance, finance, consumer products, and commercial, industrial, and other sectors.
Warren Buffett’s Secret Company
Barron’s reports indicate that Berkshire could have purchased up to $4.8 billion of the mystery stock or stocks, as the cost basis of the third category increased by $2 billion in Q1 and $2.8 billion in the second quarter.
This means the mystery stock is from the Commercial, industrial or other sector. What it also means is that the secret stock is not from Banks, insurance and finance or the Consumer product category.
Mystery May Remain Secret
Berkshire has requested confidential treatment for a stock purchased in the first quarter and may do so in the upcoming 13-F, potentially keeping the matter a mystery for a longer period. They are allowed to do so, allowing institutional investors to build positions without triggering copycat trades.
A similar confidential clause was used by Berkshire in late 2023. They secretly built a significant position in Chubb, allowing disclosure until May 2024, at which point their stake was worth $6.7 billion.
Which is the Mystery Stock
Financial and investing advice firm The Motley Fool says there were 54 potential candidates for the mystery stock, including UPS, FedEx and Caterpillar. According to them, Buffett has continued to reduce his company’s exposure to financial stocks. They are relatively convinced that this confidential treatment stock is an industrial company.
If the Buffett’s mystery stock is not revealed in 13-F filings today, investors may have to wait until mid-November when the company files its 13-F for the third quarter to know about the secret stock.
In the May-15 filings, Buffett was a buyer of 13 stocks during the March-ended quarter, as well as a seller of eight stocks.
Buffett is set to resign as Berkshire’s CEO at the end of the year, with Greg Abel, vice chair of non-insurance operations, taking over as CEO, as announced in May.