Warren Buffett is finally making his move.
The Oracle of Omaha’s Berkshire Hathaway has been sitting on a record $344billion cash pile, leaving investors to wonder if he sees the stock market as overvalued.
Early morning Thursday, he reached a $9.7billion deal to buy Occidental Petroleum’s chemical business, OxyChem, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The deal marks his biggest investment since 2022, when he bought insurer Alleghany for $11.6billion.
For investors, Buffett’s moves carry immense weight.
His seal of approval often sends stocks soaring — and signals where one of history’s most successful investors sees opportunity.
Over the past year, even his smaller trades have moved markets.
In February, Serious XM’s shares jumped 12 percent after Buffett revealed he purchased stock. His August acquisition of UnitedHealth stock helped the company stop a historic slip.
It also works the other way, too: dialysis provider DaVita’s stock tumbled 11.1 percent after Buffett revealed he was offloading his stake in the company.
Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of companies including Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen, had largely been sitting on the sidelines in 2024 and this year, aside from small deals.
At the same time, he has also sold billions in Apple and Bank of America stock —leading to his cash reserve swelling to the highest percentage since 1990.
Investors had questioned whether Buffett thought the market was overvalued.
He has long warned that the stock market should have a value that is near equivalent to the US’s economic production.
Right now, Wall Street is worth more than twice the amount of money the US makes.
Experts say Buffett’s likely deal with OxyChem signals his confidence in the stock market, or at least parts of it.
OxyChem, a chemical producer that makes vinyls for construction pipes and specialty chemicals for water treatment, pulled in about $5billion in sales last year.
The reported Occidental Petroleum deal is also another indication of Berkshire Hathaway’s enduring interest in the energy sector.
Buffett has a long history with the firm. He pumped in $10billion in 2019.
By mid-2022, he was snapping up Occidental shares on the open market, ultimately amassing nearly 30 percent of the company.
His designated successor, Greg Abel, comes from Berkshire’s energy division and is widely expected to keep expanding that footprint when Buffett steps down as chief executive by the end of the year.
Occidental’s shares jumped about 1 percent on Tuesday.
Investors will be watching closely: if Buffett is willing to spend billions, many on Wall Street see it as a signal that it’s time to start spending.
Berkshire Hathaway and Occidental Petroleum didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
