Original title: "Buffett's magical move again! Berkshire Hathaway's cash surpasses Ethereum's Market Cap, reviewing his 20-year record of brilliant escapes from the top."

Original author: James, BlockTempo from the Dynamic Zone

Warren Buffett's investment company Berkshire Hathaway released its second-quarter 2024 financial report last Saturday, showing a nearly 50% reduction in its Apple holdings and a surge in cash position to $276.9 billion, hitting a record high.

Some analysts believe that Buffett's large-scale sale of Apple shares at the time was likely due to pessimism about the stock market and economic prospects, and therefore chose to hold cash. And now, with the successive crash of the U.S. stock market and Asian stock markets in recent days, the community once again admires Buffett's keenness to successfully avoid the top.

Interestingly, Berkshire Hathaway's cash on hand, which fell below $2,100 this morning when Ethereum briefly dropped, has surpassed Ethereum's Market Cap. And this is only the cash that the company can currently use, once again marveling at its strong capital strength.

Reviewing Buffett's Over 20-Year Record of Avoiding Market Peaks

Buffett is often referred to as the master of escaping the market top. The following is a review of the brilliant market-topping history of the stock god Buffett over the past 20 years.

1999 Technology Bubble: Industries that Persisted Without Understanding

In 1999, the Internet bubble reached its peak, but Buffett adhered to the principle of 'not making money beyond his own ability' and refused to invest in unfamiliar technology stocks. Despite being questioned, he insisted on not participating in 'games where others have an advantage over me', and also believed that the Market Cap of the US stock market had greatly exceeded economic growth at that time. He thought that the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the next 17 years would not be much better than in 1964-1981, unless the market declined.

The stock market repeatedly pumped the face of the stock god in 1999, with the S&P 500 rising 21% and the Nasdaq index pumping 66%. Berkshire Hathaway's Market Cap fell nearly 20%, marking its second worst performance since 1990. Buffett also made the cover of Barron's at the end of the year, with an article titled "Warren, what's going on?" writing that after more than 30 years of invincible investment success, Buffett may have lost his magic.

However, in March 2000, the Internet bubble finally began to burst and did not fully recede until 2001, while Buffett successfully got out at the top.

The comparison of Berkshire Hathaway and the NASDAQ index during the dot-com bubble.

2008 Financial Crisis: Others Fearful, I Greedy

In 2008, the global financial crisis broke out, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52% from its peak to its lowest point, with both technology and traditional stocks falling across the board. But in the midst of a market full of pessimism, Buffett published 'Buy American. I AM.' in the New York Times in October 2008, writing the classic saying 'Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.'

In September to October 2008, Buffett began catch the bottom, buying a large amount of shares in Constellation Energy, Japanese car manufacturer Tungaloy, Goldman Sachs, BYD, General Electric and other companies. Berkshire Hathaway, held by Berkshire Hathaway, acquired US Bancorp for $15.1 billion.

After Buffett bottomed out, he was also Tied Up for a while. Goldman Sachs' stock price fell from over $125 to $53, and General Electric fell from $22.15 to $14.03. However, Buffett bought preferred stocks with a fixed annual return of 10%. Unless the company goes bankrupt, he can sit back and enjoy substantial profits every year.

"Buy American. I AM." was published 5 months ago, and now the U.S. stock market is starting to rebound, ushering in a 10-year bull market. Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway have once again achieved tremendous asset growth. Only during the financial crisis, he made a return of over 10 billion dollars with his investments.

2020 epidemic: cash is king waiting to move

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a big dump in the global stock market. Berkshire Hathaway, holding a large amount of cash, seized the opportunity. After the pandemic, it began to invest heavily in the Japanese stock market. Since 2020, it has invested 1.6 trillion yen in the five major trading companies, which has appreciated to 2.9 trillion yen by the end of last year, yielding a profit of 8 billion dollars.

Summary

However, it should be added that Buffett's measures are not always perfect in predicting the top of the prediction market. Sometimes he may miss some investment opportunities, but Buffett's history of avoiding the top provides valuable experience for investors. Although Buffett has not explicitly stated that he has reached the top, his large cash reserves also show his cautious attitude in the face of market uncertainty.

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