Another day, another $1 billion down the market's drain. Spare a thought for Warren Buffett, whose portfolio is not doing him any favors this week. On Monday Buffett lost nearly $1 billion on his third-largest investment, IBM, after the company posted disappointing earnings. On Tuesday, Coca-Cola did the same thing, posting third-quarter revenue that fell short of expectations and warning of currency headwinds.
Coke is Buffett's second-largest investment and has been one of the stalwarts of his portfolio for decades. (He left Coke's board in 2006 and his son Howard took a board seat there in 2010). With 400 million shares, Tuesday's decline of $2.72 cost the Oracle of Omaha $1.09 billion. Shares were on track for their worst day since Oct. 2008. (With IBM's $7 decline on Tuesday, he was out another $494 million there too). "I love Coke. I love the management, I love the directors," Buffett said in a CNBC interview in April, while discussing the recent controversy over the company's executive pay plan. The losses in IBM and Coke add to a recent rough patch for Buffett, who slashed Berkshire Hathaway's stake in British grocer Tesco earlier this month.
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-- Ben Berkowitz, CNBC
