Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Has Been Buying Amazon Stock

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has revealed that his company Berkshire Hathaway had been buying shares of Amazon. But he also made it clear that personally, he was not behind those purchases.

“One of the fellows in the office that manages money ... bought some Amazon so it will show up in the 13F later this month," he said.

Buffett was apparently referring to one of his confidants Todd Combs or Ted Weschler who handle more than $13 billion in equities for Berkshire.

He was speaking to CNBC, on the eve of the Berkshire’s annual shareholders meeting in Omaha.

Warren Buffett admits he is an Amazon fan

In recent months, Buffett has been profuse in his praise for Amazon and CEO Jeff Bezos for the company’s aggressive growth and the business prowess of the founder.

But praises apart, he had never showed any taste for Amazon shares. So, it is news when Berkshire suddenly says it has been buying Amazon shares and markets will take note.

“Yeah, I’ve been a fan and I’ve been an idiot for not buying Amazon shares," Buffett said.

“But I want you to know it’s no personality changes taking place,” the legendary investor added.

Hard questions at the AGM likely

Berkshire Hathaway’s annual convention in Omaha on Saturday is special because it is the biggest investor meet of the most famous conglomerate holding company.

However, the Q1 (first quarter) results will elicit many questions from investors. It is quite likely that accounting changes may impact Berkshire Hathaway’s Q1 revenue.

Buffett has already acknowledged that a new General Accepting Accounting Principle (GAAP) will require Berkshire Hathaway’s Q1 profits to accommodate losses from unrealized capital gains. This evoked disapproval from Buffett.

‘Neither Berkshire’s Vice Chairman, Charlie Munger nor I believe that rule to be sensible,’ said Buffett.

That is likely to show some discrepancies in Berkshire Hathaway’s Q1 results as the expression of the decline in favorite Buffett stocks like Kraft Heinz.

Buffett, now 89 years old has been running Berkshire Hathaway shares for 57 years. The talk about a potential successor was on since 2015 without specific names. There is a chance that Buffett may announce the name of a future CEO at the event.

Potential successors in the reckoning include seniors Greg Abel and Ajit Jain. If that happens, Q1 results could also be influenced by the successor’s imprint.

The annual shareholders' meeting at Omaha’s CHI Health Center will have thousands of investors hearing Warren Buffett’s views on the company, economy and the stocks he has been chasing.

On his most liked stocks, the 2018 annual letter mentioned some stocks as “for the long run.”

Apple tops the list of favorite stocks

Warren Buffett is known as an ardent fan of Apple and owns the tech giant’s shares valued $40 billion plus.

Buffett made his foray into Apple in February 2017 despite his high caution on tech stocks. He told CNBC “we buy them to hold.”

Since then, Berkshire’s position has been growing on it. Since Berkshire’s last meeting, Buffett doubled its exposure in the banking sector, boosting investments in Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and U.S. Bancorp.

The billionaire has invested Coca-Cola shares as well. But he is less bullish on the stock now. Last year, he noted that changing consumer habits can impact the stock. Coca-Cola’s gains were modest this year, the 2 percent gains Vs S&P 500 ′ s 17 percent validates that assessment.