Warren Buffett runs his investment portfolio via his listed company, Berkshire Hathaway. Following the end of each quarter, the business makes a 13F filing. This shows the stocks being held at the end of that period. It gives me a good insight into what the legendary investor is buying and selling during that timeframe. With the Q3 report just out, here are the key details.
A new stock added
The main stock that Buffett bought was Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM). It has fallen by 38% over the past year.
The company (as the name suggests) operates out of Taiwan and is the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer. Given the huge uses for semiconductors in commerce, it has a large and impressive client base. This includes the likes of Apple, for use in consumer electronics. It also works with other semiconductor companies such as AMD in the US and similar businesses in the UK.
I think Buffett has bought shares in this company as he sees it as a value play. His investing strategy for a long time has been trying to buy undervalued stocks at the right time. The business model with Taiwan Semiconductor is straightforward and has a strong stock market record over the past couple of decades.
Given that the stock is listed in the US, it isn’t a company I follow that closely. However, I’m going to do further research as my initial probing does indicate that this is a stock I’d consider buying.
Growing existing holdings
Another interesting stock that Buffett increased his holding in last quarter was Paramount Global. The media and entertainment firm has been working hard to grow the direct-to-consumer revenue stream, via the service Paramount+.
Q3 results from a few weeks ago showed that revenue from this division was up 38% on the same quarter last year. However, the company is still very heavily dependent on the traditional TV/media arm. Unfortunately, revenue from this area dropped by 5%.
I understand that Buffett is wanting to grow his exposure to streaming content. However, I’m not sure that I’d pick Paramount as the stock to buy. I’d prefer to consider Amazon, that has a much more diversified revenue stream as well as having Amazon Prime services. Or if I’m considering a value idea, Netflix shares have halved in the past year.
What I’m doing
Based on the recent purchases, I’m tempted to buy some Taiwan Semiconductor shares, but I need to do further research. However, I’m not going to buy Paramount stock.
Given that Buffett was active in buying these (and other stocks) during the last quarter, it shows me that he does see value in investing now. If he was just sitting on cash and not doing anything, it would make me concerned that he thinks a market crash could be due.
Obviously, I’m responsible for making my own decisions, but it’s always good to see what the best in the game is doing!
