According to a newly released regulatory filing, Warren Buffett’s investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway, sold its entire General Electric stake sometime during the second quarter. Buffett’s 10.6 million worth of shares in GE was valued at $315 million in June. But it’s good that he got out when he did, because as CNN points out, that investment would be worth $46 million less today than three months ago.
The news comes after GE suffered crippling losses this year. Since January 2017, GE stocks have plummeted 20%. To make matters worse, CEO Jeff Immelt resigned in June after 16 years on the job. On top of all that, the company is struggling to keep up in the digital age. This past June, GE also announced that it would be selling its iconic light bulb business so that it could “streamline its portfolio and focus on its core digital industrial assets.”
“The GE narrative is as open and undefined as it’s been in decades,” said Stephen Tusa Jr., an analyst at JPMorgan, following the announcement of Immelt’s decision to step down. “While we expect a fresh start, a positive, we don’t see a quick or easy fix to the current predicament.”
Tusa cited “poorly timed investments,” “optimistic growth assumptions for ‘resource rich’ countries,” and “corporate imperative for market share” as reasons why the company is failing. Business Insider took it a step further by deeming Buffett’s drop of GE shares “the end of an era.”
So where is Buffett redirecting his money?
CNN reports that during this past quarter, Buffett purchased approximately 167,000 Apple shares, which equates to nearly $27 million. Buffett also upped his stake in The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, a financial services holding company located in NYC.
But while Buffett may have lost all faith in GE, other companies are still holding out hope. Swiss financial services company Credit Suisse believes that GE isn’t broken, but merely “misunderstood.” Credit Suisse believes that GE stock will “skyrocket” if can they fix their six main issues.
