Berkshire Rises Over 2% as Apple and Coca-Cola Hit Record Highs, Boosting Portfolio Value
Alina Collins
Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares rose 2.4% Tuesday to $509.20, driven by record closes at Apple and Coca-Cola that boosted its $360 billion equity portfolio — yet the stock is up only about 1% year-to-date, well behind the S&P 500's roughly 9% gain.
What powered this rally?
Top holding Apple traded near $340, up about 25% year-to-date; the stake is worth roughly $77 billion.
Coca-Cola surged 4.57% to $89 on strong Q2 earnings, up nearly 29% for the year; the stake tops $35 billion. This means → Apple and Coca-Cola alone account for more than 30% of the portfolio's $360 billion total.
Bank of America, another major position worth over $30 billion, hit a 52-week high Monday, up about 10% year-to-date.
The portfolio is soaring — why isn't Berkshire keeping up?
Berkshire shares are up only about 1% this year, far behind the S&P 500's roughly 9% gain.
Railroad peer Union Pacific is up about 30%, CSX over 50%; property-casualty rivals Chubb and Everest Group are up 15%–20%.
In plain terms = the market rewards Berkshire's stock-picking eye but discounts the growth of its operating businesses — investors trust the portfolio more than the parent.
Why is UBS raising its target now?
Analyst Brian Meredith lifted the Class A price target 3% to $877,848, a roughly 15% premium to the current price, and kept a "buy" rating.
His rationale: a modest earnings improvement at BNSF Railway (Berkshire's freight railroad) and lower catastrophe losses in Q2. He raised 2026 and 2027 Class B EPS estimates to $21.05 and $21.32, respectively.
This means → UBS is not reacting to portfolio gains; it sees the operating fundamentals turning better at the margin.
What does the $8.5 billion buyback signal?
Berkshire repurchased roughly $8.5 billion of its own stock in Q2 — one of its largest quarterly buybacks ever. The figure was first reported by *Barron's* based on Buffett's ownership filings, with an estimated range of $5 billion to $11 billion.
This means → management believes the stock is undervalued — voting with real cash is louder than any earnings-call comment.
The current price-to-book ratio (share price divided by book value per share) sits at about 1.4×, near the low end of its recent range and well below the 1.8× reached when Class A peaked near $810,000 in May. UBS pegs intrinsic value at roughly $800,000 per Class A share, a 5% premium.
What do the nearly $400 billion in cash reserves mean?
Berkshire holds nearly $400 billion in cash, positioning it as a defensive asset in volatile markets.
Tech stocks remain under pressure — the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund fell about 2% Tuesday — and Berkshire's "anti-tech" profile could attract further inflows.
The company is expected to report Q2 results within two weeks; the updated shareholders' equity figure will be a key checkpoint for judging whether the current 1.4× price-to-book is too cheap.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.