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Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s stock exchange vehicle, joins the computer company HP Inc. It is already the investor guru’s third major investment in a few months.
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Berkshire Hathaway
announced Wednesday evening that it had acquired an 11.4 percent stake in computer and electronics company HP Inc
† It involves an investment of approximately $4.2 billion.
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HP proudly confirmed Warren Buffett’s entry. “Berkshire Hathaway is one of the world’s most respected companies and we welcome it as an investor.” Hewlett-Packard (HP) was founded in 1939 in Palo Alto. The company is considered the symbolic founder of Silicon Valley, but in recent years it has had a reputation of being a faded glory.
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Why HP?
In 2015, sluggish technology giant Hewlett-Packard split into two companies: HP Enterprise, which focuses on the server, storage, and software markets, and HP Inc, which focuses primarily on printer and PC development. HP Inc., in which Berkshire Hathaway invests, appears to have recently started a turnaround.
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Thanks to its research department HP Labs, HP is very innovative in the field of digital printing applications and 3D printing. The technology company exceeded analyst expectations in the first quarter of 2022 and is taking full advantage of the high demand from companies for high-quality printers and PCs. HP also maintains a positive outlook for 2022, despite anticipated supply chain difficulties and a slowing consumer PC market.
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At the time of Berkshire Hathaway’s entry, the stock was trading at a price-earnings ratio of around 8. In the S&P 500, the ratio averages 18.2. Xerox, a direct competitor of HP, trades at a P/E ratio of 12. Berkshire’s entry is striking: Buffett is not known as someone who invests enthusiastically in technology. Berkshire did not join Apple until 2016.
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Insurances
The investment in HP is already Berkshire Hathaway’s third major investment in a few months. The end of March Berkshire bought the insurance group Alleghany Corp† It put $11.6 billion in cash on the table. With that purchase, Buffett stayed close to his historic core business: insurance. Berkshire Hathaway has had several insurance companies in its portfolio for many years.
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