Warren Buffett's Berkshire joins the $1 trillion club

Investing.com -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) reached a historic milestone on Wednesday, becoming the first non-technology company in the U.S. to achieve a $1 trillion market capitalization.

The Omaha-based conglomerate's stock has surged over 30% in 2024, significantly outpacing the S&P 500. This impressive feat comes just days before Buffett, often referred to as the 'Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) of Omaha,' celebrates his 94th birthday.

On Wednesday, Berkshire's shares climbed to an all-time high, pushing the company's market value past the $1 trillion mark.

Unlike the other members of the trillion-dollar club—Apple, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Meta—Berkshire Hathaway is distinguished by its focus on traditional industries.

The company owns a diverse array of businesses. However, Berkshire's significant investment in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has also been a significant contributor to its recent growth.

Buffett took control of Berkshire in the 1960s and has since transformed it into a vast empire with interests in insurance, railroads, retail, and energy. The company is renowned for its strong balance sheet and substantial cash reserves.

Recently, Buffett has adopted a more cautious approach, selling off a large amount of stock—including half of Berkshire's Apple holdings—and amassing a record $277 billion in cash by the end of June.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that over the past few days, Berkshire has sold more shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) as the company continues to trim its stake in the U.S. lender.

According to regulatory filings, Berkshire has sold around $5.4 billion worth of Bank of America shares sales since mid-July. According to a regulatory filing on Tuesday, between August 23 and 27, the company is said to have sold roughly 24.7 million shares of the lender.