Good morning and welcome to the last month of 2024 AI adoption This year has accelerated, a group of technology heavyweight stocks The Magnificent Seven it has often been in the spotlight. But holding company Berkshire Hathaway is giving big tech a run for its money.
At the age of 94, Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, number 5. Fortune 500the business world continues to be interested in what it buys or sells. of the company market cap It reached over $1 trillion a few months ago, and is below Tesla and above Taiwan Semiconductor. However, Buffett’s company is separate for some of his holdings. Its signature property is Geico Insurance, and it also owns Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen and Brands. BNSF railroad which became popular more than half a century ago.
In a new luck the articlemy colleague Geoff Colvin writes that nine of the 10 most valuable companies traded on the US stock market are technology companies. the apple (No. 1) and Nvidia (No. 2), along with it Microsoft, the alphabetand more And then, there it is Berkshire Hathaway. The company’s market cap also exceeds that of all other non-tech companies. Walmart It should get 41% more valuable to match Berkshire’s market cap, he explained.
“So far this tech-infatuated year, Berkshire’s stock has outperformed shares of Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet,” Colvin writes. “Technology-heavy has won Nasdaq as well as the S&P Dowand the Russell 2000. It’s hard to remember that CEO Warren Buffett told his shareholders last February, “In total, we have no the opportunity to have a spectacular show.”
However, market capitalization is not Buffett’s favorite way to evaluate a company. “Market capitalization measures market expectations, not measurable financial results, and as Buffett has often pointed out, Mr. Market has mood swings,” Colvin wrote.
To learn about Buffett’s favorite financial metric, along with the business bromides he despises, you can read on Colvin’s full analysis here.
Buffett, who has built an enduring investment legacy, recently reflected on his life on Nov. 25. letter to shareholders.
“Father time always wins,” Buffett wrote. “But it can be fickle, unfair and even cruel, sometimes ending life at birth or soon after, sometimes waiting a century or more before paying a visit. So far, I’ve been very lucky, but in a short time it will come to me.’
Buffett has revealed that he is giving away an additional $1 billion to his family foundations. This is in line with our long-standing commitment to giving More than 99% of its value.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Upcoming event: The Fortune Future 50, a collaboration between luck and Boston Consulting Grouphighlights industry world leaders: companies poised for long-term growth and exceptional returns. Join us on December 4th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET, for a virtual discussionPresented in partnership with Workday to hear from Future 50 executives live. Leaders will discuss how they leverage strategy, technology and talent to drive growth, even in uncertain times. Speakers include Avani Prabhakar, CEO of Atlassian; Arsalan Tavakoli, Senior Director of Field Engineering and Founder, Databricks; and Amanda Whalen, CFO of Klaviyo. You can find more information here and register here.
Leaderboard
Benoît Fouilland financial director was appointed Celonisprocess mining and process intelligence company, effective December 1st. Fouilland has more than three decades of experience in finance and executive management. He joins Celonis from Contentsquare, where he served as CFO. Prior to that, he was CFO of Firmenich, a fragrance and flavor company, where Celonis was a client. Prior to Firmenich, Fouilland held CFO positions at Criteo SA, SAP AG and Business Objects SA.
Michael Buttstedt In the year he was appointed financial director Allianz partnersinsurance and support services company. With more than 25 years at the Allianz Group, Buttstedt joins Allianz Partners from his recent role at Allianz Italy, where he served as CFO for four years. Before that, he was chief risk officer for five years. Buttstedt has held a number of leadership positions within the Allianz Group, including Chief Risk Officer of Allianz Switzerland and Group Risk Officer of Allianz SE.
Great Deal
US deal activity shows a steady rebound after the ups and downs seen over the past three years 2024 year-end EY-Parthenon Deal Barometer. EY macroeconomic experts The volume of US M&A deals in 2025 will generally grow by 10% year over year. In terms of private capital, expert M&A forecasts predict a 16% increase in 2025.
After slowing in the second half of 2024, EY’s Deal Barometer estimates that corporate M&A volume (for deals over $100 million) will gradually increase, rising 8% in 2025, after a likely 11% increase in 2024. With 830 agreements per year. -so far through September, the Deal Barometer predicts around 1,080 deals in 2024 and around 1,170 deals in 2025.
Going deeper
luckThe heads of the finance team came together to come up with stock ideas for the coming year, culminating in the report.5 investment trends for 2025 and 15 stocks to help you bet on them“.
We started by identifying five trends and then selected three companies that are likely to ride each of these waves in 2025. In some cases, our choices reflect the constant march of technology. Other trends such as geopolitical risk have the greatest potential to create disruption and health and wellness reflect broader political and social changes.
listen
“Travel has always been a very competitive business. Everyone is always trying to get more income.’
—Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel say luck in an interview. Fogel leads all travel company brands, including Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak, Agoda and OpenTable.
