Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) isn't letting the holiday season slow him down. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, Financial) just dropped over $560 million in a pre-Christmas stock-buying spree, targeting discounted heavyweights Occidental Petroleum (OXY, Financial), SiriusXM Holdings (SIRI, Financial), and even a smaller bet on VeriSign (VRSN, Financial). Berkshire scooped up 8.9 million Occidental shares for $405 million, pushing its stake to a commanding 28%, and added 5 million SIRI shares for $113 million, increasing its position to 35%. The news sent Occidental and SiriusXM up significantly on both Friday and pre-trading on Monday today, snapping both stocks out of their year-long slump.
What's Buffett's play here? Simple—buy the dip. Occidental is down 24% this year, spooked by concerns over debt and low oil prices. But Buffett sees opportunity, doubling down on a stock that's already his sixth-biggest holding. SiriusXM has had an even rougher ride, crashing 62% this year amid subscriber losses and shifting demographics. For Buffett, those pain points scream “value,” and his vote of confidence in SiriusXM comes just months after its merger with Liberty Media reshaped the company's direction.
Here's why this matters: Buffett doesn't chase fads—he bets on recovery. By leveraging Berkshire's cash pile to snag undervalued stocks during a market pullback, he's sending a clear message: volatility is an opening, not a setback. With Berkshire now owning massive stakes in Occidental Petroleum and SiriusXM, the Oracle of Omaha is once again schooling Wall Street on patience and conviction. Whether these moves pay off big remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure: Buffett isn't sitting this market out.
