Warren Buffett's Reputation Shaken Again... US Airline Stocks Surge After His Sell-Off

Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The reputation of Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, known as the 'investment genius,' is once again being shaken. This is because the stock prices of U.S. airline companies, from which Buffett decided to cut losses, are soaring.

On the 26th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, airline stocks surged together amid expectations of a recovery in air travel demand following the reopening of the economy. The stock price of UAL, the holding company of United Airlines, rose 16.29% compared to the previous day, while Delta Air Lines (13.04%), JetBlue (14.34%), and Southwest Airlines (12.64%) also recorded double-digit gains.

Earlier, at the annual shareholders' meeting on the 2nd, Buffett explained that Berkshire Hathaway recorded a net loss of $49.7 billion (about 60.6 trillion KRW), attributing it to large-scale stock valuation losses including airline stocks.

Buffett stated that he sold all shares of the four major U.S. airlines?American, Delta, Southwest, and United Airlines?citing the very uncertain future of the airline industry.

The financial media MarketWatch said, "Airline executives are confident enough in the recovery of air travel demand to repurchase their own stocks," and some evaluations suggest that Warren Buffett's decision to sell airline stocks might be due to losing his investment sense.

The British daily The Guardian also reported on the 19th that a German company Buffett acquired three years ago was actually on the brink of bankruptcy at that time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.