Berkshire Hathaway raises stake in Mitsubishi past 10%

Berkshire Hathaway has pushed its stake in Mitsubishi past the 10% threshold, Mitsubishi said Thursday in a formal statement.

The holding, made through Berkshire’s insurance subsidiary National Indemnity Company, rose to 10.23%, up from 9.74% in March. This increase makes the U.S. conglomerate an even bigger shareholder in Japan’s biggest trading company.

A Mitsubishi spokesperson said Berkshire “continues to believe in the firm’s medium to long-term growth.” This comes nearly five years after Warren Buffett first bought into five Japanese trading houses in 2020.

The investment is part of Warren’s wider Japan strategy, which includes positions in Sumitomo, Itochu, Marubeni, and Mitsui, alongside Mitsubishi, all of which dominate Japan’s global trade pipeline, with investments stretching from energy to metals to food distribution.

And since the original announcement, Berkshire has gradually added to these holdings, especially during periods of market softness, rarely revealing purchases until they are already done.

Warren rules out railroad acquisition but cuts new freight deal

While increasing Berkshire’s footprint in Japan, Warren also addressed rising chatter about U.S. railroad mergers. On August 3, he and CEO-in-waiting Greg Abel met with Joseph Hinrichs, the CEO of CSX, at Warren’s Omaha office.

The meeting was private; no aides, no assistants. Warren later told Becky Quick on CNBC that Berkshire “would not make a bid” to buy CSX. Instead, he said the three executives discussed ways to cooperate and make U.S. freight rail more efficient.

Just days later, CSX and BNSF Railway, which Berkshire owns, announced a partnership to offer new coast-to-coast freight service across the U.S.

The announcement hit markets immediately. On the news that Berkshire would not buy CSX, shares of CSX fell 5%, closing at $32.81. Union Pacific dropped around 2%, and Norfolk Southern slid more than 2%. Even Berkshire’s own stock dipped, though by less than 1%.

The dip followed a month of speculation after Union Pacific said it would buy Norfolk Southern for $85 billion, sparking rumors that Warren might jump into a railroad buying spree.

Hinrichs didn’t offer much detail after the meeting, but CSX told CNBC it would “continue exploring additional service options that will efficiently improve transcontinental service.”

Leadership change and valuation uncertainty drive investor focus

While Berkshire keeps building positions abroad and striking new deals at home, investors are still locked in on the company’s leadership handoff and cash mountain.

The latest quarterly earnings show Berkshire sitting on $344 billion in cash, the most it’s ever held. The company also continues to sell more stock than it buys, signaling a cautious stance in a market where valuations remain high.

Even with that much dry powder, Berkshire hasn’t made a major acquisition. And that’s bothering some shareholders, especially with declining net income, flat revenue growth, and insurance profits weakening. The company’s Q2 results showed just how carefully it’s been navigating.

Still, those figures haven’t changed the core near-term risks: the shift from Warren to Abel, and what they plan to do with that massive cash pile.

Warren, who remains Chairman, has gradually handed more responsibility to Greg Abel, who’s expected to become CEO once Warren steps down.

Abel’s presence at the CSX meeting shows he’s already operating at the highest level. The market is watching closely to see how much of Warren’s strategy Abel will carry forward, and how soon the handover will actually happen.

Despite some hesitation around the company’s pace, valuation remains a big talking point. Twenty-nine members of the Simply Wall St Community estimated that Berkshire Hathaway could be undervalued by up to 30%. They put the company’s fair value between $577,396 and $1.06 million per share.

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