Stocks A to Z / Stocks B / Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) ❤
No. of Recommendations: 2
Mars gets mentioned quite often, and Berkshire, via Kraft, is in the packaged food business.
Mars to invest €1bn in European manufacturing as US demand slows
Consumer goods group pledges spending as EU regulators probe its proposed acquisition of Kellanova
https://www.ft.com/content/5ccf3ae3-5358-438d-a2a3...After four years of persistently high inflation US consumers have been cutting back spending, while the snack food industry is also being challenged by the popularity of appetite-suppressing medications, such as Ozempic.
No. of Recommendations: 0
Same for drinks companies?
As Jim says, some of them are looking attractively valued from historic standards, it's the future that matters though.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Mars gets mentioned quite often, and Berkshire, via Kraft, is in the packaged food business.
And of course Mars partnered with Berkshire Hathaway in the Wrigley acquisition.
Another one that gets mentioned is Nestle. Nestle is the world's second largest pet food manufacturer behind Mars, who is solidly in first place. Interestingly, Mars is by far the world's largest veterinary clinic operator.
No. of Recommendations: 2
Nestle is the world's second largest pet food manufacturer behind Mars, who is solidly in first place. Interestingly, Mars is by far the world's largest veterinary clinic operator.
Which is only one of the reasons why if Mars went public, I'd sell a kidney to invest in it.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Which is only one of the reasons why if Mars went public, I'd sell a kidney to invest in it.
Wouldn't it be a lot like Nestle, though? Petfood is a good business. Snack food I'm not sure about. Anecdotal: we used to buy a lot of it, not nowadays.
Nestle ADR is down 23% over the last 5 years...
No. of Recommendations: 16
Anecdotal: we used to buy a lot of it, not nowadays.
Nestle ADR is down 23% over the last 5 years...There has been a little bit of discussion about Nestle at the Falling Knives board, starting in July.
https://www.shrewdm.com/MB?pid=260809575&wholeThre...As for snacks going out of fashion--perhaps.
But on the other hand, follow a 20 year old into a food shop and watch what gets purchased. Presumably you are older than when you used to purchase more snacks in the past...
For me, it's one of those firms I've always admired and wanted to own, but it never seemed to be a reasonable deal. But now that it's a reasonable deal, at least by comparison with its history, it's well into a stretch that really makes me doubt if it is still a great firm. A dip is one thing, but the lack of visible progress has been going on for a while now. Cycle or trend?
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 3
No. of Recommendations: 10
Nestle in the FT today:
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22the+meltdown+at...Well, I suppose the optimist would note that that's the sort of article you might see at the bottom of the cycle. Assuming you're one who believes that the storm will in fact pass at some point.
Of course, the other thing that you tend to see at the bottom of a problem cycle is a firm that's dirt cheap. Earnings have been flat for a while but are not actually depressed at the moment, and the current price is about 18 times that number, which doesn't count as dirt cheap for slightly damaged goods. At 72 francs it doesn't particularly tempt me, but (say) under 50 it might: you wouldn't have to assume any business improvement to do acceptably well.
The dividend has been rising but the earnings haven't, a trend that can not go on forever. The payout ratio is 78% now. There may be a dividend cut if they reach the point that something actually has to be done. That might trigger a sell-off, as they might need to build a different shape of shareholder base. For the patient, that might be a good long term entry.
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 1
" 63 percent
Approximately 63 percent of Mars sales in the United States are from its candy and confectionery products, while the remaining sales are from its pet care and food products."
" Approximately 12 percent of Americans have used GLP-1 weight loss drugs, which includes about one-fifth of women aged 50 to 64. Additionally, 64 percent of those who have taken a form of weight-loss drug reported it was either extremely effective or effective at helping them shed weight. Furthermore, about 1 in 8 adults in the U.S. has used a GLP-1 drug at some point in their life."
" The US obesity rate in 2025 continues to be a major public health concern, with 40.3% of adults classified as obese (BMI ≥30). Obesity prevalence is slightly higher among women (41.3%) compared to men (39.2%), showing a gender gap in weight-related health risks."
Connect the dots, unless you can steal the company these products figure to suffer flat to small growth going forward.
No. of Recommendations: 9
63 percent of Mars sales in the United States are from its candy...
2 percent of Americans have used GLP-1...
The US obesity rate in 2025...
Connect the dots...
One more dot: less than half their sales are in the US, and less than half come from confectionery. The US is big, but not the whole world.
Jim
