Buffett Cuts Losses at Goldman Sachs... Sells 84% Stake Held

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Warren Buffett, who recently sold off a large amount of airline stocks, is now reported to have sold a significant portion of his Goldman Sachs holdings. Buffett had previously become a major shareholder by purchasing a large stake in Goldman Sachs during the 2008 global financial crisis, but amid the recent COVID-19 pandemic, he is said to have disposed of most of his holdings.

According to foreign media such as CNBC on the 16th (local time), Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it sold about 84% of its Goldman Sachs holdings as of the end of March. As a result, Berkshire Hathaway's Goldman Sachs holdings sharply decreased from 12 million shares at the end of last year to 1.9 million shares at the end of March. In market value terms, this dropped from $2.8 billion (approximately 3.4 trillion KRW) to about $300 million.

Buffett's large-scale sale of Goldman Sachs shares is interpreted as a response to the continued decline in the stock price after it fell 33% in the first quarter. Previously, Berkshire Hathaway had become a major shareholder by purchasing Goldman Sachs shares following the 2008 global financial crisis. This sale is also seen as a signal that Buffett intends to reduce his preferred exposure to bank stocks, which is expected to influence the market going forward. Berkshire Hathaway also reduced its stake in JPMorgan Chase by about 3%.

Earlier, Berkshire Hathaway announced that it sold all of its shares in the four major U.S. airlines?American, Delta, Southwest, and United Airlines?citing the expected difficulties in the airline industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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