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Days after his company, Berkshire Hathaway, sold $900 million of Walmart stock, Warren Buffett explained why he decided to pull back his investment in the retail giant.
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“I think retailing is just too tough for me, just generally,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick on Monday. He gave a few examples of times he “got my head handed to me” while investing in retailers, including British grocery chain Tesco.
He also shared his belief that e-commerce companies, such as Amazon, represent the future of the industry, and noted that Walmart has struggled to keep up.
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“That is a tough, tough, tough competitive force,” he said of Amazon. “Now Walmart is pushing forward online themselves. They have got all kinds of strengths, but I just decided that I’d look for a little easier game.”
Walmart has made several strides in the past few years to match its online counterparts. In September 2016, it acquired Amazon competitor Jet.com, and just last month, it launched a membership program similar to Amazon Prime, but with no annual fee.
Buffett, 86, is now investing his money in the four major U.S. airlines — American, Delta, Southwest, and United — and, according to rumors, may be looking to buy Southwest entirely.
(H/T: Business Insider)
