Warren Buffett’s investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) has withdrawn sentences committing to diversity and inclusion from its latest annual report. It’s interesting to know that even an investment stalwart like Buffett is trying to avoid complications from a potential crackdown on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives by the Trump Administration.
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Berkshire owns and operates roughly 189 different businesses, with approximately 392,400 employees. These subsidiaries follow their individual hiring and retention policies with minimal intervention from the holding company or Buffett.
Here’s How Berkshire Rolled Back DEI Policies
Berkshire released its fourth quarter results and Fiscal 2024 annual report on Saturday, February 22. Until last year, Berkshire’s annual report said that the different businesses established hiring practices “intended to identify qualified candidates and promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce.” However, the annual report for Fiscal 2024 has carefully omitted the terms “promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce” and instead ends the sentence with the word “candidates.”
With the rollback, Berkshire joined a growing list of U.S. companies that have already pulled back their DEI policies. These include Amazon (AMZN), Citigroup (C), Ford Motor Company (F), and McDonald’s (MCD), among others.
On the one hand, many conservatives and the Trump administration are against DEI policies, and on the other hand, removing such inclusions is upsetting employees and leading to public uproar.
Highlights from Berkshire’s FY24 Performance
- In Q4FY24, operating profit soared 71% year-over-year to $14.53 billion, backed by solid income from its insurance business.
- Total revenues for the full year Fiscal 2024 grew modestly by 1.9% to $371.43 billion.
- Operating earnings for FY24 jumped 27% annually to $47.44 billion.
- Berkshire ended the fiscal year with a hefty cash balance of $334.20 billion, up from $167.64 billion reported at the end of Fiscal 2023.
- Buffett hinted at modestly increasing Berkshire’s stake in the five Japanese companies to more than 10% “over time.”
Is it Good to Invest in Berkshire Hathaway?
On TipRanks, only one analyst has given a rating on Berkshire Hathaway Class B stock in the past three months. It is very likely that analysts will revisit their views on the stock following the Q4 and FY24 earnings release.
Currently, BRK.B stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on one Buy rating. The average Berkshire Hathaway price target of $536 implies a nearly 12% upside potential from current levels. In the past year, BRK.B stock has gained 17%.
