Buffett’s Exit & Chevron’s Appeal

It’s funny, isn’t it? All those years tracking Warren Buffett’s every move, like he was some sort of financial weather system, and then he just…retired. Not dramatically, not with a flourish. Just a quiet handover to Greg Abel. It felt less like a changing of the guard and more like watching a particularly well-behaved uncle go home for the night. I’d spent so long anticipating a grand pronouncement, a final, earth-shattering investment thesis, that the actual event felt… anticlimactic. Like waiting for a bus that never arrives, then realizing you didn’t actually need to go anywhere.

Of course, even in retirement, the man couldn’t help but tinker. It’s the sort of compulsion I recognize in myself – the need to rearrange the spice rack, to re-alphabetize the bookshelf, even when nobody else notices. And, predictably, that tinkering involved a significant shuffling of Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings. It wasn’t a complete teardown, mind you. Just a strategic pruning and a rather interesting new planting. I always thought the man was a bit of a gardener at heart. A very, very wealthy gardener.

The most talked-about move, naturally, was the halving of Berkshire’s stake in Bank of America. It wasn’t a panicked sell-off, though. It felt…calculated. Like a long-term relationship ending not with shouting, but with a polite agreement that you’re simply on different paths. I’d been watching BofA for years, and honestly, the bank had begun to feel…fragile. Not in a ‘going-to-collapse’ way, but in a ‘losing-its-spark’ kind of way. Interest rate sensitivity, they called it. I call it a lack of imagination.

They said he’d exercised those warrants back in 2017, a savvy move at the time. And, yes, there was a profit to be taken. But I suspect it was more than that. Buffett always seemed to have an uncanny ability to sense when a good story was reaching its conclusion. BofA’s story, it seemed, was becoming…predictable. And Buffett despises predictability almost as much as he despises paying too much for a stock. I once saw him refuse a perfectly good cup of coffee because it was “overpriced.” The man is a legend.

Then came the interesting part: a $1.2 billion bet on Chevron. Oil. It felt…unexpected. I’d always pictured Buffett as a bit of a technophile, a champion of innovation. But perhaps even he recognizes that some things never change. People still need energy. They still need to drive their cars and heat their homes. And Chevron, despite everything, is remarkably good at providing it. It’s not glamorous, but it’s…reliable. Like a slightly grumpy, but ultimately dependable, uncle.

The timing, of course, is impeccable. Geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions – it’s a perfect storm for oil prices. But I suspect Buffett wasn’t thinking about geopolitical events. He was looking at the fundamentals: a vertically integrated business, a solid balance sheet, and a consistent history of returning capital to shareholders. It’s the kind of company that doesn’t make headlines, but quietly delivers consistent returns. It’s the kind of company I like to invest in.

They say Chevron has increased its dividend for 39 consecutive years. Thirty-nine! That’s longer than I’ve been alive. It’s a testament to the company’s stability and its commitment to rewarding shareholders. It’s also a reminder that sometimes, the best investments are the ones that don’t require you to constantly check your phone. I’m starting to think Buffett’s retirement isn’t about escaping the market. It’s about finding a comfortable chair and watching the dividends roll in.

It’s funny, isn’t it? After all those years of chasing growth stocks and disruptive technologies, I find myself increasingly drawn to companies like Chevron. Reliable, predictable, and consistently profitable. Maybe I’m getting old. Or maybe, just maybe, I’m finally starting to understand what Warren Buffett has known all along: sometimes, the best investments are the ones that simply…work.

2026-03-13 11:17

Read More