Berkshire began trimming its BYD holdings in 2022, cutting the stake to 54 million shares before fully exiting this year.
BYD shares slipped in Hong Kong on Monday after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said it had finally cashed out of the Chinese electric carmaker. The move ends a 17-year run that turned a $230 million gamble into one of the company’s biggest investment wins.
The stock was down 1.5% at 107.44 yuan in late-morning trade on Monday. In the U.S., BYD’s shares gained for five straight sessions through Friday and ended the week up marginally at $14.56.
Berkshire first invested in BYD in 2008, purchasing 225 million shares at the urging of Buffett’s close partner, Charlie Munger, who once described BYD’s founder, Wang Chuanfu, as a “damn miracle,” according to a report by CNBC.
At its peak in 2022, the stake was valued at about $9 billion, with BYD shares climbing nearly 3,900% over the period Berkshire held them. The U.S. conglomerate began paring back the position in August 2022. By June last year, it had sold about 76% of its holding, leaving roughly 54 million shares, or just under 5% of the company.
Falling under that disclosure threshold meant subsequent sales did not need to be reported under Hong Kong exchange rules. A fiscal first-quarter filing by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the unit that held the shares, later showed the investment valued at zero as of March 31. A Berkshire spokesperson has since confirmed the stake has been fully sold.
The steady trimming of the position had been closely watched for more than a year, and many investors saw a full exit as inevitable, especially after Munger’s death in late 2023.
BYD acknowledged the exit in a post on Weibo, saying: “Buying and selling stocks is a normal part of investing. Thank you to Munger and Buffett for recognizing BYD! We also appreciate the investment, support, and presence over the past 17 years! Cheers to all long-term investors,” CnEVPost reported.
Buffett has praised BYD in the past as “extraordinary,” but said in 2023 that reallocating capital into other opportunities was preferable given global uncertainties, echoing similar reasoning when Berkshire sold most of its Taiwan Semiconductor stake the same year.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for BYD was ‘bearish’ amid ‘low’ message volume.
“We finally have the overhang of Berkshire selling over with!” posted one bullish user on Stocktwits.
BYD’s U.S.-listed stock has risen 30% so far in 2025.
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