When Warren Buffett speaks, Wall Street listens — and the “Oracle of Omaha” issued a full-throated defense of stock buybacks in his latest annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. That’s why we’re shining a light on the Club holdings that repurchase the most stock, including Morgan Stanley (MS), Meta Platforms (META) and Apple (AAPL). Buffett’s argument, which mirrors the Club’s thinking, is simple: “When the share count goes down, your interest in our many businesses goes up. Every small bit helps if repurchases are made at value-accretive prices,” Buffett wrote in the letter , published Feb. 25, alongside Berkshire’s fourth-quarter earnings report. In other words, buybacks allow investors to own a greater percentage of a company’s earnings without needing to spend more money on additional shares. Not all repurchases are created equal, as Buffett rightfully pointed out in his much-anticipated annual letter. They can be done at irresponsible times, such as when a company’s stock price is overvalued. But, in general, buybacks are a beneficial tool at management’s disposable. “When you are told that all repurchases are harmful to shareholders or to the country, or particularly beneficial to CEOs, you are listening to either an economic illiterate or a silver-tongued demagogue (characters that are not mutually exclusive),” wrote Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO. Buffett has overseen Berkshire, a multinational holding company whose myriad subsidiaries span most corners of the U.S. economy, since 1965. He is one of the most successful investors and wealthiest in the world, with a net worth over $100 billion. For more than a year, the Club’s investment mantra has emphasized companies that return cash to shareholders via buybacks and dividends. “It really helps to know that’s what Buffett is focused on, so we’re of course going to put our portfolio through the Buffett test,” Jim Cramer said on Monday’s “Homestretch ,” our daily afternoon audio feature to get members ready for the last hour of trading. He added: “We like to test ours in every single way.” So, here’s a full breakdown of buyback activity for the 35 companies in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust in one big chart. Notes on methodology: All numbers are courtesy of Factset. For each company, the repurchase activity covers the firm’s most recent four quarters of reported results. Most Club holdings have reported for the current earnings season, but we’ve yet to hear from Costco (COST) and Salesforce (CRM). Those two companies report on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, meaning there is a slight lag on their four-quarter buyback activity. Market capitalization figures are based on Friday’s closing prices. Context Here’s some additional color on the buyback activities of seven key Club holdings. Devon Energy (DVN): The oil-and-gas producer slowed down its pace of buybacks in the second half of 2022 after buying Validus Energy for roughly $1.8 billion. Devon bought back just $183 million worth of stock in the third and fourth quarters combined, compared with $535 million in the first six months of 2022. However, management has said the company expects to be “active buyers” of its stock in 2023 . Coterra Energy (CTRA): Repurchases are set to be a bigger focus for the company this year . After spending more than $1.2 billion on stock buybacks in 2022, Coterra’s board approved a $2 billion buyback authorization last week. The company’s capital return priorities also will emphasize buybacks over its variable dividend, CEO Tom Jorden said on Coterra’s earnings call Thursday. Costco: In January, the wholesale retailer’s board reauthorized a $4 billion stock repurchase program , which is set to expire in four years. However, we don’t expect them to aggressively buy back stock because history indicates they prefer to use excess cash to issue special dividends. Wells Fargo (WFC): After buying back roughly $6 billion worth of shares in the first quarter of 2022 , the bank stopped doing buybacks in the final nine months of the year. However, management said on the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call it intended to resume repurchases in the current quarter . Starbucks (SBUX): The coffee chain recently restarted its buyback activity, following a roughly two-quarter pause after Howard Schultz took over as interim CEO last spring. Schultz instead upped the company’s investment in its stores and employees. Repurchases returned in Starbucks’ fiscal 2023 first quarter totaled $191.4 million. The company has said it expects to return $20 billion to shareholders by the end of fiscal 2025 through dividends and buybacks. Haliburton (HAL): The oilfield services giant resumed share repurchases in the fourth quarter of 2022 , buying up $250 million worth of stock. It was the company’s first major buyback activity since the first quarter of 2020, following a multiyear commitment to reduce debt levels. Haliburton also recently committed to a framework that will see them return at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Salesforce: The enterprise software maker’s first-ever buyback program commenced in the quarter ended Oct. 31, during which the company repurchased $1.7 billion worth of stock to minimize dilution. It’s part of a $10 billion buyback authorization issued by Salesforce’s board last August. Bottom line Buffett’s buyback commentary hits the nail on the head. As the chart makes clear, the vast majority of Club holdings engage in some level of stock repurchases, which is good news for shareholders. We’re big proponents of wisely-executed buybacks, allowing us to have a bigger piece of our companies’ earnings than we otherwise would absent the repurchase activity. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
The logo of Meta Platforms is seen in Davos, Switzerland, May 22, 2022.
Over the weekend, Tesla began offering many Cybertruck trade-in estimated values above the original purchase price, apparently due to a glitch in its system.
Tesla offers online trade-in estimates for individuals considering purchasing a vehicle from them.
Over the last few days, Cybertruck owners who submitted their vehicles through the system were surprised to see Tesla offering extremely high valuations on the vehicle, often above what they originally paid for the electric truck.
Here are a few examples:
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$79,200 for a 2025 Cybertruck AWD with 18,000 miles. Since this is a 2025 model year, it was eligible for the tax credit and Tesla is offering the same price as new without incentive.
Here Tesla offered $118,800 for a 2024 Cybertruck ‘Cyberbeast’ tri-motor with 21,000 miles.
In this example, Tesla offers $11,000 more than the owner originally paid for a 2024 Cybertruck.
So, trade in the Foundation Series Cybertruck AWD for $11k more than I paid for it originally, re-buy an AWD with FSD for $79,490 after the tax credit.
I’d lose free supercharging for life, Cyberwheels, and white interior.
The trade-in estimates made no sense. Tesla has been known to offer more attractive estimates online and then come lower with the official final offer, but this is on a whole different level.
Some speculated that Tesla’s trade-in estimate system was malfunctioning, while others thought Tesla was indirectly recalling early Cybertrucks.
It appears to be the former.
Some Tesla Cybertruck owners who tried to go through a new order with their Cybertruck as a trade-in were told by Tesla advisors that the system was “glitching” and they would not be honoring those prices.
Tesla told buyers that it would be refunding its usually “non-refundable” order fee.
Electrek’s Take
That’s a weird glitch. I assume that it was trying to change how the trade-in value would be estimated and the new math didn’t work for the Cybertruck for whatever reason.
It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
The Cybertruck’s value is already quite weird due to the fact that Tesla still has new vehicles made in 2024, which are not eligible for the tax credit incentive, while the new ones made in 2025 are eligible.
There’s also the Foundation Series, which bundles many features for a $20,000 higher price.
All these things affect the value and can make it hard to compare with new Cybertrucks offered with 0% interest.
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Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but when dealers started discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000 back in June, I wrote that it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.
Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.
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That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.
With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.
That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states:
Jeff Belzer’s in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $39,758 ($28,032 off)
Troncalli CDJR in Georgia has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,590 MSRP for $42,697 ($24,893 off)
Whitewater CDJR in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $43,846 ($23,944 off)
Antioch CDJR in Illinois has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $44,540 ($23,250 off)
“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”
All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!
Jeep Wagoneer S gallery
Original content from Electrek; images via Stellantis.
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Multinational equipment brand SANY just launched a clever new 50-ton reach stacker that pairs gravity and an F1-style KERS system to generate electricity, improve operating efficiency, and reduce costs. The best part: they’re putting that smart tech to work by helping clean up (and shore up) the grid.
Short for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS was a staple of Formula 1 in the late aught and 2010s. Essentially an advanced form of regenerative braking, KERS captured the kinetic energy of a car at speed that would normally be lost as heat when the brake pads pressed against the brake discs. Instead of heat, KERS converted that energy into electricity (storing it in a battery or flywheel), to be deployed later.
Sebastian Vettel explains KERS
4x WDC Sebastian Vettel explains KERS.
In practice, KERS gave drivers an extra boost of horsepower at the push of a button, enabling them to attack or defend their position on track and adding a fresh strategic element to the sport. In SANY’s case, that stored power is fed back into the reach stacker’s electric hydraulic system, reducing pressure loss across the high-pressure setup by 50%, and lowering the machine’s overall energy consumption by more than 60%.
Energy recovery is a key feature. The potential energy of the boom, lifting gear and energy storage cabinets during the boom’s descent can be recovered efficiently with an overall recovery efficiency of over 65%. That means every 1 kWh of consumption in lifting can be recovered by 0.4 kWh during descent.
The 50t reach stacker is available with a 512 kWh swappable battery pack that’s compatible with other SANY heavy equipment assets, and supports both DC fast charging when swapping isn’t practical or (for whatever reason) desirable.
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On a single charge and backed by the onboard KERS, that’s good enough for the machine can lift and move containers for more than 7 continuous hours, which SANY claims significantly reducing downtime for charging compared to other, similar equipment assets.
The new SANY reach stacker can stack six 50-ton containers, greatly enhancing a site’s container and battery storage density within a limited space. The first units will reach unnamed customers building out a utility-scale energy storage project by the end of this month.
Regardless of which one you choose, it seems like the available options for reach stacker operators are just getting better and better!
SOURCE | IMAGES: SANY.
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