Buffett says he dumped entire stake in airline-sector stocks: 'The world changed for airlines' amid coronavirus
Provided by Dow Jones
May 3, 2020 1:40 PM GMT+1
By Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch
'I was wrong about that business,' Warren Buffett says of decision to unload stocks in United, American, Delta and Southwest Airlines
Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway dumped all of its holdings in the airline sector, painting a grim picture of the industry that has been badly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I was wrong about that business," Buffett said, speaking on Saturday in Omaha, Neb., at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting, which was held virtually due to the deadly disease.
Back in April, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA)(BRKA) disclosed that it sold large blocks of stock in Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV).
Subsidiaries of Berkshire sold 13 million Delta shares for a total of $314.2 million and 2.3 million Southwest shares amounting to more than $74 million, as he looked to substantially scale back his ownership of the airlines sector which has been devastated by stay-at-home protocols that have been put in place since the coronavirus epidemic took hold of the world over the past three months.
Buffett, however, explained that his company and its subsidiaries have now unloaded their entire stake in airlines.
Buffett explained at the meeting that he thought he was getting roughly 10% of the four largest airlines for an attractive price. He also owned stakes in American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) and United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL). Collectively, those airlines, represent some 80% of the passenger miles flown in the U.S., Buffett said.
But he determined recently that his decision, in light of the emerging pathogen, was ill-advised and he sought to unload his position: "I just decided that I'd made a mistake."
Source:https://www.morningstar.com/news/ma...e-world-changed-for-airlines-amid-coronavirus
Provided by Dow Jones
May 3, 2020 1:40 PM GMT+1
By Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch
'I was wrong about that business,' Warren Buffett says of decision to unload stocks in United, American, Delta and Southwest Airlines
Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway dumped all of its holdings in the airline sector, painting a grim picture of the industry that has been badly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I was wrong about that business," Buffett said, speaking on Saturday in Omaha, Neb., at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting, which was held virtually due to the deadly disease.
Back in April, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA)(BRKA) disclosed that it sold large blocks of stock in Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV).
Subsidiaries of Berkshire sold 13 million Delta shares for a total of $314.2 million and 2.3 million Southwest shares amounting to more than $74 million, as he looked to substantially scale back his ownership of the airlines sector which has been devastated by stay-at-home protocols that have been put in place since the coronavirus epidemic took hold of the world over the past three months.
Buffett, however, explained that his company and its subsidiaries have now unloaded their entire stake in airlines.
Buffett explained at the meeting that he thought he was getting roughly 10% of the four largest airlines for an attractive price. He also owned stakes in American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) and United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL). Collectively, those airlines, represent some 80% of the passenger miles flown in the U.S., Buffett said.
But he determined recently that his decision, in light of the emerging pathogen, was ill-advised and he sought to unload his position: "I just decided that I'd made a mistake."
Source:https://www.morningstar.com/news/ma...e-world-changed-for-airlines-amid-coronavirus
