Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway hits record-breaking milestone - after investor dumps $1 billion in Bank of America shares
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has become the first non-tech company to reach a $1 trillion valuation.
Buffett's conglomerate joins the small group of elite companies that have passed the $1 trillion mark, including Google's parent company Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.
The Nebraska-based company's stock has risen around 30 percent this year, outpacing the wider S&P 500, which is up 18 percent.
The coveted $1 trillion milestone was passed just days before the 'Oracle of Omaha' turns 94.
The milestone 'is a testament to the firm's financial strength and franchise value,' Berkshire analyst at CFRA Research told CNBC.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion
'This is significant at a time when Berkshire represents one of the few remaining conglomerates in existence today.'
Berkshire Hathaway is a sprawling business empire with a $285 billion stock portfolio that Buffett has built up over six decades, making him one of the richest people in the world.
The conglomerate has continued to focus on old-fashioned investments as the owner of BNSF Railway, insurance companies and Dairy Queen.
'It's a tribute to Mr Buffet and his management team, as "old economy" businesses... are what built Berkshire.
'Yet, these businesses trade at relatively much lower valuations, versus tech companies which are not a major part of Berkshire's business mix,' Andrew Kligerman, TD Cowen's Berkshire analyst, said.
'Moreover, Berkshire has achieved this through a conglomerate structure, a model that many view as 'archaic,' as corporations have increasingly moved to specialization over the decades.'
It comes as the company also dumped almost $1 billion of Bank of America stock between last Friday and Tuesday, according to a regulatory filing.
Berkshire has been slashing its stake in America's second biggest lender since mid July, selling around $5.4 billion worth of shares.
Despite the string of sales Berkshire Hathaway is still the bank's largest shareholder, holding a stake of around $35.8 billion.
Buffett has also been selling off other key holdings including half of his Apple stake.
Buffett has been selling large portions of Berkshire's stock portfolio in recent months
Jerome Powell suggested the Fed will be ready to cut interest rates in September
The company's cash reserves have grown to a staggering $277 billion by the end of June.
'Building the cash position... when I look at the alternative of what's available in the equity markets and I look at the composition of what's going on in the world, we find it quite attractive,' Buffett said at the company's annual meeting in May.
Most of that cash is being invested in short-term treasures, valued at $234.6 billion at the end of the second quarter, which is more than the amount the Federal Reserve itself owns.
Investors have raised the stock, likely on the back of optimism about the American economy as inflation eases and the Fed is widely expected to start cutting interest rates in September.
