It’s that time of the year again.
Yes, I am talking about the holding of Annual General Meetings (AGMs) for shareholders to attend and interact with the management of the companies they own.
Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), Warren Buffett’s holding company, are in for an interesting time.
This year’s AGM will be held on 6 May (Saturday) but the conglomerate has activities planned from Friday through Sunday.
Berkshire has even come up with a 24-page shareholders’ guide to assist both local and international shareholders.
Past AGMs have seen crowds of more than 40,000 people so if you intend to attend this AGM, remember to make your arrangements early!
Berkshire Hathaway also files its quarterly 13-F report which details its shareholdings.
We took a look at the latest quarterly filing and sieved out five stocks that the conglomerate owns as of 31 December 2022.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Apple needs no introduction, being the company that invented the ubiquitous iPhone that launched the smartphone industry.
Berkshire Hathaway owned around 915.6 million shares of the technology company amounting to nearly US$151.3 billion.
Apple’s results for its fiscal 2023’s first quarter (1Q FY2023) ending 31 December 2022 saw a few records being broken.
The company’s installed base of active devices crossed the two billion mark and achieved a new all-time high.
Also, its services revenue set an all-time revenue record as Apple shifts its focus from product-driven revenue to service revenue.
For 1Q FY2023, revenue dipped by 5.5% year on year to US$117.2 billion due to a decline in sales of iPhones and Macs.
Operating profit fell by 13.2% year on year while net profit decreased by 13.4% year on year to US$30 billion.
Despite the weaker results, services revenue posted a 6.4% year on year gain to US$20.8 billion.
Apple declared a quarterly cash dividend of US$0.23 per share, a slight improvement from the US$0.22 paid out a year ago.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
Johnson & Johnson, or JNJ, is one of the world’s largest healthcare companies that employ more than 140,000 employees.
Berkshire holds a 327,100 shares position in JNJ worth around US$54.2 million.
The healthcare giant reported a mixed set of earnings for 2022, with sales edging up 1.3% year on year to US$94.9 billion.
Net profit, however, dipped by 14.1% year on year to US$17.9 billion.
For 2023, JNJ expects sales to rise 5% year on year (excluding COVID-19 vaccine sales) and for earnings per share to improve by 4% year on year.
JNJ declared a quarterly dividend of US$1.13 per share, an improvement from the US$1.06 paid out in the previous year.
Floor & Decor (NYSE: FND)
Floor & Decor is a specialty retailer and commercial flooring distributor with 191 warehouse-format stores and six design studios across 36 states in the US as of 29 December 2022.
Berkshire owns 4.78 million shares of the company worth US$470.4 million as of 31 December 2022.
Sales increased by 24.2% year on year in 2022 from US$3.4 billion to US$4.3 billion.
Net profit inched up 5.3% year on year to US$298.2 million.
The company opened a net 31 warehouse stores during the year along with four new design studios.
Floor & Decor expects 2023’s sales to come in at US$4.68 billion at the midpoint, for a 9.7% year on year rise in revenue.
Comparable store sales, however, are projected to remain flat or to suffer a 3% year on year decline.
The company intends to open another 32 to 35 warehouse stores this year.
Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC)
Kraft Heinz is a multinational food company with global brands such as Kraft, Jello, Kool Aid, Classico, and Heinz.
Berkshire owned 325.6 million shares of the food company worth US$12.7 billion as of 31 December 2022.
Kraft Heinz reported a pleasing set of earnings for 2022.
Sales edged up 1.7% year on year to US$26.5 billion while operating profit inched up 5% year on year to US$3.6 billion.
Net profit, however, more than doubled year on year to US$2.4 billion as interest expense more than halved from US$2 billion to US$921 million.
The company also generated a free cash flow of US$1.55 billion for 2022.
A quarterly dividend of US$0.40 was declared.
For 2023, organic net sales growth is projected to be 4% to 6% higher than 2022.
Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard is a technology company in the payments industry and helps to connect banks, merchants and consumers.
The company has around 3.1 billion cards in issue at the end of 2022.
Berkshire Hathaway owned close to four million shares of Mastercard worth around US$1.48 billion as of 31 December 2022.
Mastercard reported a commendable set of earnings as border reopenings helped to boost consumer spending.
Revenue rose 17.8% year on year to US$22.2 billion while operating profit jumped 21.6% year on year to US$12.3 billion.
Net profit improved by 14.3% year on year to US$9.9 billion.
The payments company declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.57, higher than the US$0.49 paid out in the prior year.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Apple and Mastercard.