Berkshire Hathaway despenca 14% desde maio, enquanto S&P 500 dispara 11% - O velho gigante tropeça enquanto o mercado avança

O titã Berkshire Hathaway está ficando para trás em meio ao rally do mercado. Suas ações caíram 14% desde 2 de maio - um contraste gritante com o S&P 500, que saltou 11% no mesmo período.

Enquanto Buffett brinca com seu 'valor intrínseco', os investidores estão votando com seus pés. O mercado prefere apostar no crescimento do que em relíquias do século XX.

Parece que até os oráculos de Omaha podem ficar obsoletos quando o jogo muda. Quem precisa de balanços conservadores quando você pode ter ganhos exponenciais? (Pergunte aos gestores de hedge queimados.)

Old money exits as investors ditch value for growth

Berkshire’s class A shares, the company’s original high-vote stock, were trading at a record $812,855 in May. That’s when selling began. These shares are usually held by families who got in decades ago and passed them down through generations. It’s still unknown who exactly is offloading them, but public filings from major institutions are due later this month.

Despite the selloff, Berkshire’s operations aren’t bleeding. The second quarter saw profit growth in the BNSF railroad, utility businesses, manufacturing, and retail. The company’s operating earnings rose 8% from a year ago, excluding currency changes. But even with strong numbers, buyers aren’t biting.

Berkshire’s stock had gained 18.9% in the months leading to its annual meeting in May. That run was driven by fears of market volatility, especially around President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade fights. Investors rushed to what they saw as a safe bet.

“As the worries about tariffs started to build . . . there were people rotating into the safety of Berkshire,” said Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust. But since then, investors have dumped value names and run back to fast-growing tech stocks.

Stone said, “What is really moving in this market is technology, and we know that’s not really his thing.” He also compared Berkshire’s $344 billion in cash and Treasury investments to Fort Knox, but admitted that hasn’t been enough to stop the outflows.

Warren sells stocks, stops buybacks, holds cash

Warren has stopped buying back Berkshire shares too. That decision came as the company’s price-to-book ratio rose to 1.8 times, the highest level since October 2008. Berkshire only repurchases stock when Warren believes it’s trading below its “intrinsic value.”

That wasn’t the case in May. “The stock was overvalued,” said Christopher Bloomstran, president of Semper Augustus Investments. Bloomstran added he expects Warren to return to buybacks now that the stock has dropped again.

Instead of buying, Warren’s been selling. He dumped a large chunk of Apple last year, and for 11 straight quarters, Berkshire has been a net seller of equities. At the end of June, cash made up 30% of Berkshire’s total assets, showing just how defensive the company’s gotten.

This isn’t new behavior from Warren. During the dotcom boom in 1999, he refused to chase hype. Berkshire’s stock trailed badly during that time, especially against the Nasdaq Composite. Critics slammed him for sitting out the tech rally, but when the bubble burst, Berkshire avoided the wreckage.

This time, though, things are different. Cathy Seifert, analyst at CFRA, said Berkshire always had a “Warren premium,” but warned that may not stick under Abel. The next few quarters will show whether that legacy can hold.

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