Here is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to see what Berkshire Hathaway is buying.
How to See What Berkshire Hathaway is Buying: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Have you ever wondered what the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, and his team at Berkshire Hathaway are investing in? You're not alone. Following the moves of one of the most successful investors in history is a popular strategy for many retail investors. The good news is that you don't need a secret handshake or a premium subscription to find this information. It's publicly available! But you need to know where to look and how to interpret what you find. Let's dive in and uncover the secrets of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio.
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| How To See What Berkshire Hathaway Is Buying |
Step 1: Get Acquainted with the Form 13F
So, let's start with the most important document you need to know: the Form 13F. Have you ever heard of it?
What is it? A Form 13F is a quarterly report that institutional investment managers in the U.S. with over $100 million in assets under management are required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This filing provides a snapshot of their long positions in publicly traded stocks and other equity securities at the end of each quarter.
Why is it important for you? Berkshire Hathaway, as a massive investment company, is required to file this form. It's your primary source of information on what they are buying, selling, and holding. Think of it as a quarterly report card for the Berkshire Hathaway stock portfolio.
Step 2: Understand the Filing Schedule
This is a crucial point that can sometimes confuse people. Berkshire Hathaway doesn't file its 13F every day or even every month. The filings are made on a specific schedule.
The 45-Day Lag: The biggest catch is the time delay. The 13F filing is due within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. This means the information you're seeing is always a bit old. For example, the holdings as of March 31st will be reported by May 15th. The holdings as of June 30th will be reported by August 14th, and so on.
Why the lag? This delay is in place to prevent front-running. If the information were released in real-time, other investors could rush to buy the same stocks, driving up prices and making it harder for Berkshire to acquire shares at a fair value. This delay gives them time to build or exit their positions without immediate market disruption.
The Filing Dates:
Q1 (ending March 31): Filed by May 15th
Q2 (ending June 30): Filed by August 14th
Q3 (ending September 30): Filed by November 14th
Q4 (ending December 31): Filed by February 14th of the following year.
Note: If the filing date falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date is pushed to the next business day.
Tip: Jot down one takeaway from this post.
Step 3: Finding the Filings on the SEC Website
Now, let's get to the fun part: accessing the information. The official source is the SEC's EDGAR database.
Sub-heading: Using the EDGAR Database
Go to the SEC EDGAR website: Search for "SEC EDGAR company filings" or go to the official SEC website and find the EDGAR database section.
Search for "Berkshire Hathaway": In the search bar, enter "Berkshire Hathaway Inc." You'll find a list of all their regulatory filings.
Find the Form 13F-HR: Look for the most recent filing with the form type "13F-HR" (Holdings Report). This is the document that lists their portfolio holdings.
Open the filing: Click on the document link to open the filing. You'll see a series of tables. The key part is the "Information Table."
Step 4: Interpreting the Information Table
The Information Table in the 13F is a goldmine of data, but it can look a bit like a spreadsheet. Let's break it down.
Sub-heading: What to Look For in the Table
Issuer Name: This is the name of the company, like "Apple Inc." or "Bank of America Corp."
Title of Class: This refers to the type of security, usually "COM" for common stock.
CUSIP: This is a unique identifier for the security.
Value: This is the market value of the holding in thousands of dollars at the end of the reporting quarter. Pay close attention to this column! It tells you the size of the position.
Shares: This column shows the number of shares Berkshire Hathaway holds.
Put/Call: This indicates if the position is a put or call option. For Berkshire's long-term holdings, this is typically blank.
Sub-heading: Analyzing Changes Quarter-over-Quarter
To see what they've bought or sold, you need to compare the current 13F filing to the previous one.
New Buys: Look for companies that appear in the current filing but were not present in the previous one. This indicates a new position was opened.
Additions: If the number of shares and value have increased for a company that was already in the portfolio, it means they added to their position.
Reductions: If the number of shares and value have decreased, they have sold some of their shares.
Complete Exits: If a company that was in the previous filing is completely gone from the current one, they have sold their entire position.
Step 5: Using Third-Party Websites and Tools
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Let's be honest, manually going through the EDGAR database can be tedious. Thankfully, several financial websites and platforms simplify this process for you.
Sub-heading: Popular Portfolio Trackers
Investing.com, Fintel, and Morningstar: Many financial news and data websites have dedicated "portfolio trackers" for Berkshire Hathaway and other prominent investors. They scrape the data from the 13F filings and present it in a user-friendly format with charts and tables.
GuruFocus and WhaleWisdom: These specialized platforms focus specifically on tracking the portfolios of institutional investors. They offer detailed analysis, historical data, and a summary of recent buys and sells.
Benefits of using these tools: They save you time, make it easier to compare holdings over time, and often provide percentage changes in holdings, which is very helpful.
Step 6: Don't Just Follow, Understand!
Tip: Watch for summary phrases — they give the gist.
Simply copying Berkshire Hathaway's trades is a poor strategy. Remember, the 13F is a historical snapshot. By the time you see the filing, Buffett and his team may have already changed their minds or sold the shares.
Sub-heading: Key Considerations Before You Invest
The "Circle of Competence": Warren Buffett always talks about investing within your circle of competence. He invests in businesses he understands. You should do the same. Don't buy a stock just because Berkshire did if you don't understand the company's business model.
Buffett's Role: Keep in mind that not all of the investments are made by Warren Buffett himself. A significant portion of the portfolio is managed by his two portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who have their own investment styles.
Valuation Matters: Buffett is a value investor. He buys stocks when they are trading at a significant discount to their intrinsic value. Just because Berkshire owns a stock doesn't mean it's a good price right now. You still need to do your own valuation analysis.
Berkshire's Unique Position: Berkshire Hathaway's investment decisions are often influenced by their massive size and capital structure, which is very different from that of a retail investor. They can negotiate private deals or acquire entire companies, which you cannot.
10 Related FAQs
How to find Berkshire Hathaway's CIK number?
You can find Berkshire Hathaway's Central Index Key (CIK) number on the SEC EDGAR database. Their CIK is 0001067983. This number is a unique identifier for the company on the SEC's system.
How to track Berkshire Hathaway's stock sales?
You can track stock sales by comparing consecutive 13F filings. If the number of shares of a security in the current filing is lower than in the previous one, it indicates a sale. If the holding is completely gone, it's a full exit.
QuickTip: Don’t just consume — reflect.
How to interpret the 'Value' column in a 13F filing?
The 'Value' column represents the market value of the holding in thousands of U.S. dollars ($000) at the end of the reporting quarter. For example, a value of 1,000,000 means the holding was worth $1 billion.
How to see Berkshire Hathaway's short positions?
You cannot. The Form 13F only requires the disclosure of long positions in equity securities. Short positions and certain derivatives are not required to be reported, so you won't find them in this filing.
How to know if a Berkshire Hathaway purchase was made by Warren Buffett himself?
It's not always possible to know for sure. While Buffett manages the largest positions, his two portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, handle smaller stakes. Sometimes, Berkshire's annual report or annual meeting will provide clues or commentary on who made a particular investment, but the 13F filing itself doesn't specify the manager.
How to find out if Berkshire Hathaway owns a private company?
QuickTip: Stop scrolling if you find value.
Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company that owns many private, wholly-owned subsidiaries (like GEICO, See's Candies, and BNSF Railway). Their ownership of these companies is disclosed in their annual reports (Form 10-K) and quarterly reports (Form 10-Q), not the 13F filing. The 13F is only for publicly traded stocks.
How to get email alerts for new Berkshire Hathaway filings?
You can set up an email alert on the SEC's EDGAR database to be notified every time Berkshire Hathaway files a new document, including the 13F. Many third-party financial websites also offer this feature.
How to find Berkshire Hathaway's historical 13F filings?
All of Berkshire Hathaway's past filings are available on the SEC's EDGAR database. You can search by their CIK number and filter the document type to '13F-HR' to see all historical filings.
How to determine the average cost of a Berkshire Hathaway purchase?
You can't. The 13F filing only shows the total number of shares and their market value at the end of the quarter. It does not disclose the price at which the shares were bought or sold, so you cannot calculate their average cost basis from this document.
How to understand the difference between Berkshire Hathaway Class A and Class B shares?
Berkshire Hathaway has two classes of stock: BRK.A (Class A) and BRK.B (Class B). The Class A shares are the original shares and are extremely expensive, while the Class B shares were created to be more affordable for individual investors. The Class B shares have a fraction of the voting rights and are priced at about 1/1500th of a Class A share. The 13F filing lists the company's equity holdings, which applies to both classes of stock.
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