This week, Warren Buffett's business empire, Berkshire Hathaway, reached a new milestone - its A-class stock has surpassed $600000 per share.
Berkshire Hathaway is currently the seventh largest company in the United States, valued at approximately $880 billion, and is only $120 billion away from the $1 trillion milestone.
As a non-technology company, a market value of trillions of dollars is an almost unattainable high in the US stock market, while globally, only energy giant Saudi Aramco has a market value exceeding $1 trillion.
However, Berkshire still hopes to become the first non tech company in the United States with a market value exceeding $1 trillion. The company is currently competing with American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, which has a market value of approximately $749 billion, lagging behind Berkshire Hathaway by $130 billion.
Buffett took over Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, when the company's stock price was approximately $19 per share. And the A-class stock closed at $610962 per share on Friday, skyrocketing by a staggering 32155 times.
This growth trajectory highlights Buffett's unique strategic vision. Buffett has always refused to spin off A-class stocks because he wants to attract high-quality investors who buy and hold them, often focusing more on the long-term growth and sustainability of the company than the price level of the stocks. Buffett also pointed out that if stocks are spun off, it may attract short-term investors who have little knowledge of the underlying business.
However, Berkshire launched lower priced B-class stocks in 1996. At that time, the trading price of Class A stocks was slightly higher than $30000, while the trading price of Class B stocks was only 1/30 of the price of Class A stocks, about $1000. After Berkshire acquired railway operator BNSF in 2010, it split its B-shares. Today, Berkshire's B-shares are priced only slightly above $400.
The continuous rise in A-share prices has consolidated Berkshire Hathaway's position as a global financial giant. The last milestone for Berkshire Hathaway's A-share market was in March 2022, when the stock broke the threshold of $500000.
The company's current investment portfolio value has expanded to nearly $350 billion. Its recent major actions include buying nearly 30% of the shares of Western oil companies and acquiring insurance company Alleghany for $11.6 billion.