© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is pictured at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, January 19, 2021. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway Inc said it had bought more than $4.1 billion in shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, a rare major foray into the technology sector of billionaire Warren Buffett’s conglomerate.
The news sent TSMC shares in Taiwan up more than 6% on Tuesday, as it boosted investor sentiment towards the world’s largest contract chipmaker, which has seen shares Its shares hit a two-year low last month as global chip demand plummeted.
In a regulatory filing Monday describing equity investments listed in the United States as of September 30, Berkshire said it owns approximately 60.1 million US-custodial shares of TSMC. .
Berkshire also revealed a new $297 million stake in the building materials company Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:) Corp and $13 million into Jefferies Financial Group Inc. It withdrew an investment in Store Capital (NYSE:) Corp., a real estate company that agreed to an acquisition in September.
The filing does not specify whether Buffett or his portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler made specific buys and sells. Investors often try to offset what Berkshire buys. The larger investments are usually Buffett’s.
While Berkshire typically doesn’t bet big on technology, it often favors companies it sees as having a competitive advantage, often through their size.
TSMC, which makes chips for companies like Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), Qulacomm and Nvidia (NASDAQ:) Corp, posted an 80% increase in quarterly profit last month, but offered a more cautious note. normal for upcoming needs.
“I doubt Berkshire has the belief that the world cannot exist without products,” said Tom Russo, a partner at Gardner, Russo & Quinn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which owns shares of Berkshire. Made by Taiwan Semi.
He added: “Only a handful of companies have been able to accumulate capital to deliver semiconductors, which have become increasingly central to people’s lives.
Berkshire has had various successes in the technology sector.
Its six-plus-year bet over the past decade in IBM (NYSE:) Corp. has failed, but Berkshire is making a huge unrealized profit from its $126.5 billion stake in Apple, which Buffett considers a product company. consume more.
Apple is by far the largest investment in Berkshire’s $306.2 billion equity portfolio.
Berkshire disclosed TSMC’s stake about two and a half months after it began reducing its decades-old multibillion-dollar stake in BYD Co (OTC:), China’s largest electric car company.
In the third quarter, Berkshire added its stake in letter V Corp (NYSE:), Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:), Celtic language (NYSE:) Corp, Paramount Global and RH (NYSE:).
It also sold shares of Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:) Corp, General Motors Co (NYSE:), Kroger (NYSE:) Co and US Bancorp (NYSE:).
Buffett, 92, has run Berkshire since 1965. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company also owns dozens of businesses including the BNSF railroad, the Geico auto insurance company, and several energy and utility companies. Industry, Fruit of the Loom and Dairy Queen.
