back to article Buffett would take a $2bn hit on IBM shares … if he cashed in now

Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest men and a stock market gambler renowned for avoiding tech bets, is counting the billions of dollars lost – as it stands – after taking a punt on IBM. The tycoon’s Berkshire Hathaway fund has confirmed some 16 per cent of its $12.3bn cash splash on Big Blue shares over the past four …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sell Sell Sell

    Quick! Sell to the Chinese before everyone realises that the Cloud is just a tarted up rental con!!!

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Sell Sell Sell

      So if the cloud isn't the future - BUY BUY BUY a legacy on-site mainframe maker ?

  2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Changes Times in these Spaces with Zerodays forExploitation and Monetisation

    IBM .... a lumbering dinosaur of a system in a market of agile astute developments. Good luck with that wait and see strategy, Warren. You want have any sorries to seek with that inaction,methinks.

  3. Gordon 10
    FAIL

    Oh Really?

    Show me any company the size of IBM that's not a lumbering dinosaur. Google and Facebook included.

    Why anyone conflates a development methodology with how a company generates revenue is beyond me.

    Show me an "agile astute development" that makes billions per quarter. Most of the dinosaurs will still be around when the shore ditch wannabe's have failed fast and finally fucked off, and those dinosaurs are picking over their remains.

    IBMs blues are purely down to Romety being unable to deliver any other strategy than "fire & spin off" whilst using the profits to support share buy backs and the market has seen through her.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Yes, Really

      What are IBM selling that systems cannot do without and can obtain elsewhere for less to generate profit/revenue streams for themselves rather than for IBM types? Cloudfare is not Vapourware with Pirateware on board …… and that is a major problem, and terminal block, for the brains of an operation the size and fit to a dinosaur, G 10.

      Would not disagree with your Shoreditch comment, though.

  4. ROlsen

    Future Chips

    I'm guessing that Warren Buffet retains his investment in IBM on the hopes of a large payoff as the industry switches to graphene/photonics/spintronics/etc. IBM R&D is still good, whoever solves the silicon problem should be able to generate some big profits.

  5. frank ly

    Understanding

    Warren Buffet once said that he only invested in industries that he understood, when his strategy of not investing in internet type stocks was questioned during the 'dotcom' boom. He was regarded as a wise man after the dotcom bust, of course. Maybe his understanding of IBM and the 'computer industry' is a little behind the times?

    1. Peter2 Silver badge

      Re: Understanding

      I think he also said that his strategy is to look at what he thinks a company is worth, and then buy when the market share price is below what he considers the company is worth and is likely to be worth in the long term. He's not an investor who buys today and sells tomorrow.

      Given his record I am not convinced that he lacks understanding of the stock market. Far from it, i'd be inclined to say that we are in a dotcom 2.0 boom which is likely to burst at some point when people decide that companies with turnovers measured in millions are not worth billions. (or tens/hundreds of billions). When this happens I am quite happy to wager that his set of stocks are not going to get hugely devalued.

  6. Kurt 4

    Sell before the loss turns into 3 billion

    Lets see, IBM lost the PC business, lost the server business, lost the cpu business, losing in the cloud business. Now they are spending their hard earned money on apple gear. hmmm

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sell before the loss turns into 3 billion

      "lost" isn't an anagram of "sold" - the letters aren't quite correct.... ;-)

      Two other points:-

      Fabrication business was "sold" for a negative amount of money, but didn't just do CPUs and IBM still designs (but doesn't fab) it's own CPUs for Power and mainframe.

      IBM has lost its cloud business has it? Have you got some insight you can share?

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