Warren Buffett has losses as well as wins on his record of stock picking.
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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett disclosed that he has increased his stake in
Occidental Petroleum
to 18.7%. That is an investment worth about $11 billion in the oil exploration company after crude prices spiked this year.
Buffett’s legendary status as a stock picker is well-deserved, but his record shows some big losses as well as wins. Here’s what happened when he bet on other companies.
Chevron
In an move similar to the bet on Occidental (ticker: OXY), the “Oracle of Omaha” ramped up his stake in oil major
Chevron
(CVX) in the first quarter, lifting his holdings to about $26 billion at the end of March from less than $5 billion at the end of 2021. Shares rose through May and remain 22% higher than at the start of the year, but they are down 15% in the past three months.
HP
Buffett increased his stake in
HP
(
HP
Q) to 11% earlier this year. The maker of computers and other technology hardware has since proven that it isn’t immune to the widespread tech selloff of 2022. Shares closed at $31.78 yesterday from as high as $40 in April. They’re down 15% this year, compared with a 25% drop in the Nasdaq.
Citi
Shares in
Citigroup
(C), the fourth-largest U.S. bank, got a pop in mid-May when it was revealed that Buffett had lifted his stake to about $3 billion as of the end of March. It was short-lived and the stock has since fallen further. It now trades at about $47, compared with a peak of $80 in May 2021 and is down 22% on the year.
Bank of America
Buffett stepped in to shore up
Bank of America
(BAC) in 2011 in the wake of the financial crisis and increased his stake last year. That bet paid off handsomely until the start of 2022, when they reached their postpandemic peak of about $49. The stock is down 28% this year and closed at $31.86 yesterday.
Coke
Buffett has held shares of
Coke
(COKE) for decades and owns almost 10% of the company. His long-term returns have been enormous on this wager, and it’s still been a decent play this year. Shares are down less than 7%, compared with a 17% drop in the S&P 500.
Write to brian.swint@dowjones.com
