Berkshire Hathaway Caps Off Strong Year of Operating Earnings Growth

Image: Berkshire’s operating earnings experienced a strong advance during 2023 from last year’s levels. By Brian Nelson, CFA On February 24, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) reported strong fourth-quarter results that capped off a year where operating earnings advanced 21% on a year-over-year basis. Warren Buffett tipped his hat to his long-time partner Charlie Munger, who passed away in November of last year, crediting him as the architect of Berkshire and himself merely in charge of the “construction crew.” There weren’t many surprises in the annual report, and Buffett made several references to areas that he has long talked about in the past, including pointing investors to operating earnings, as opposed to net income, which includes unrealized capital gains that can make … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Is Firing on All Cylinders; Shares Surging

Image Shown: Shares of best idea Berkshire Hathaway Class B (ticker: BRK.B) have surged higher over the past year with room to run. By Callum Turcan Those of you that have been long-time members of Valuentum (thank you by the way!) know that we are huge fans of Warren Buffett. We include Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B), specifically its Class B shares (ticker: BRK.B), as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Recently, Buffett (CEO and Chairman of Berkshire) released his latest annual letter to shareholders, which included plenty of important information regarding the conglomerate’s financial performance and investing practices at-large. One of the things that stuck out in Buffett’s latest annual letter to shareholders, a topic that he … Read more

South32 Continues to Improve Its Asset Base

Image Source: South32 – October 2021 Sierra Gorda Acquisition IR Presentation By Callum Turcan South32 (SOUHY) represents one of our favorite ideas in the mining space, and we include shares of SOUHY as an idea in the new ESG Newsletter portfolio (more on that here). We view both South32’s capital appreciation and income generation upside quite favorably, keeping in mind the firm has a variable dividend policy that is subject to foreign currency movements. On a scale of 1-100 (with 100 being the best), South32 earns a nice ESG rating of 93 (based on our proprietary ESG rating matrix) as the miner continues to pivot towards commodities that will be essential to making the green energy revolution possible. Before we … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Charging Higher

Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B stock are on a nice upward climb year-to-date, and we include BRK.B as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. By Callum Turcan On Saturday, May 1, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) reported first quarter 2021 earnings that impressed, in our view. We include Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and continue to be big fans of the firm and its management team, led by CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger. Some big news came out recently as it concerns the eventual management transition at Berkshire Hathaway. Reportedly, Greg Abel, who runs Berkshire Hathaway’s non-insurance operations, would take … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Is Finally Putting Its Enormous Cash Pile to Use

Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B are recovering from the steep pandemic-induced fall as the company has started to put its enormous cash-pile to work. By Callum Turcan On August 31, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) announced it had  “acquired slightly more than 5% of the outstanding shares in five of the leading Japanese trading companies” and that the firm considered these to be “passive stakes.” Those positions were acquired over approximately the past year through purchases made on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Here are the five companies in alphabetical order (by ticker): Itochu Corporation (ITOCF), Marubeni Corporation (MARUF), Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (MITSF), Mitsubishi Corporation (MSBHF), and Sumitomo Corporation (SSUMY). Berkshire As of June 30, 2020, … Read more

Digital Realty Is a Stellar Income Growth Idea

Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – September 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) is a carrier-neutral data center real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) that provides co-location and interconnection services. The REIT has grown its annual dividend over the past 15+ consecutive years, and we view Digital Realty as a stellar income-generation idea. As of this writing, shares of DLR yield ~2.8%. We include shares of DLR as an idea in both the Dividend Growth Newsletter and High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolios. Investors have been steadily warming up to Digital Realty this year, with shares of DLR up ~23% year-to-date as of the end of normal trading hours on September 8 (before announcing its latest … Read more

Top ESG Idea South32 Getting Closer to Launching Major Mining Project in Arizona

Image Shown: South32 is targeting ample zinc, lead, and silver resources at the Hermosa project in Arizona that could be quite economical to extract should the Australian-based miner move forward with the endeavor. Image Source: South32 – January 2022 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Shares of South32 (SOUHY), one of our favorite miners, are up over 50% during the past year as of this writing and that is before taking dividend considerations into account. The Australian miner has a bright outlook after shedding virtually all its thermal coal assets last calendar year (completed in June 2021) and announcing in October 2021 that it would acquire a sizable economic interest in a Chilean copper mine. As a quick housekeeping item, South32’s … Read more

High-Yielding Income Growth Idea Digital Realty Expects Business Will Continue Recovering

Image Shown: We are big fans of Digital Realty Trust Inc’s global footprint. Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Fourth Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On February 17, Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) reported fourth quarter 2021 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates, though its near term guidance came in a tad softer than expected. The data center real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) is facing headwinds from vintage leases rolling off and concerns about surging power costs around the world. On the plus side, Digital Realty is experiencing decent growth at the part of its business where re-leasing terms have been more favorable, and its contracts generally include provisions that allow the … Read more

Shares of Our Favorite Miner South32 Skyrocketed During Past Year

Image Shown: South32, an idea in our ESG Newsletter portfolio and one of our favorite miners, put up tremendous financial performance during the first half of fiscal 2022 as it capitalized on surging realized prices for its commodities sales. Image Source: South32 – First Half of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Shares of the American depository receipts (‘ADRs’) of one of our favorite miners, South32 (SOUHY), have put up tremendous performance during the past year. According to data provided by Yahoo! Finance, shares of SOUHY are up over 50% during the past year on a price only basis while the S&P 500 (SPY) is up ~9% on a price only basis during this period as of late … Read more