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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway delivered another record-breaking year, with operating profit surging 27% to $47.44 billion in 2024, up from $37.35 billion the year before.

The company’s strong performance was driven by gains in insurance underwriting and investment income. The fourth quarter was particularly strong, with operating profit jumping 71% to $14.53 billion, or about $1,010 per Class A share. Net income for the quarter reached $19.69 billion, boosted by gains in Apple, American Express, and other equity holdings.

For the full year, Berkshire’s net income totaled $89 billion. Buffett highlighted the company’s significant tax contributions, revealing that Berkshire paid $26.8 billion to the US government in 2024 — more than any other corporation, including trillion-dollar tech firms.

This amounted to 5% of all corporate tax revenue collected in the country. The Oracle of Omaha also revealed a major shift in Berkshire’s portfolio: Apple is no longer its largest holding. Despite Apple’s stock rising 30% in 2024, Berkshire’s stake in the tech giant fell by over $104 billion, making American Express its top holding.

Looking ahead, Buffett reaffirmed his preference for stocks over bonds, stating that Berkshire’s massive $334.2 billion cash reserve will be deployed into equities rather than fixed-income investments. Warren Buffett started buying Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1962 for just $7.60 per share. Over the decades, his investment acumen and refusal to split the stock turned it into the world’s most expensive share.

On Friday, Berkshire’s Class A stock closed at a staggering $718,750, while its more affordable Class B shares traded at $478.74. To mark his 60 years at the helm, Buffett is offering shareholders a chance to purchase a special anniversary book at the annual meeting, featuring untold stories and lessons from Berkshire’s history.

Two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto said that it would be pumping Rs 1,364 crore or 150 million euros into its Netherlands subsidiary, Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV, Netherlands.

As per the regulatory filing by the auto major, the investment will be either in the form of equity capital/preference capital/loan – convertible or otherwise, as may be determined in the due course, in one or more tranches. Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV holds a 49% stake in Austrian bike maker KTM. Pierer Mobility Group holds the remaining stake in the Austrian bike maker.

On November 29, 2024, KTM announced emergency restructuring. “KTM AG is in the process of implementing restructuring measures due to high financing needs. The management of KTM AG assumes that it will not be possible to secure the necessary interim financing in a timely manner,” Pierer Mobility Group said in a statement in November. Notably, Pierer Mobility Group had earlier said in an investor update that it is looking for “far-reaching restructuring for KTM.”

“In addition to securing liquidity, the Executive Board is endeavouring to put KTM AG back on a stable operational and financial basis. Against the backdrop of a challenging economic environment, an even more far-reaching operational restructuring is being driven forward to reduce inventories at both KTM AG and the dealer level to an economically sustainable level by significantly reducing production volumes,” Pierer Mobility AG had said. The restructuring process will end in February 2025. Bajaj Auto – KTM partnership dates to 2007 when Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV (BAIHBV) picked up a 14.5% stake in KTM Power Sports AG and subsequently launched the brand in India. BAIHBV gradually increased its stake to 48%. In 2021, the shareholding was simplified when BAIHBV swapped 46.5% of its holding to gain a 49.9% stake in PTW Holding AG (the KTM group’s parent company).

At present, Bajaj Auto manufactures small-displacement KTM & Husqvarna motorcycles at its Chakan plant. Notably, Bajaj Auto had a setback in KTM exports in the October to December quarter. “We have had a bit of a setback on KTM exports. The KTM issue globally is well known…. We’ve had to take a hit on our export volumes this time. We took a cautious approach because we didn't want to compromise the recoverability of money that would have been due had we continued to export,” Dinesh Thapar, CFO of Bajaj Auto said during the post-earnings call.

The Burman Group announced on February 20, 2025, that they have taken control of Delhi-based financial services firm Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) and have been appointed as its promoters.

The company emphasized its primary focus on fostering stability, enhancing governance, and promoting sustainable growth within the organisation. “We are pleased to announce that we have acquired control of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) and been designated as its promoters. We are grateful to our regulators, shareholders and other stakeholders for their trust and confidence," the group said in an official statement. The Burman Group will collaborate with REL's leadership and board to strengthen its strategic vision and drive sustainable value growth.

"We have always invested in businesses with strong fundamentals and high growth potential, and we will apply the same disciplined approach to Religare Enterprises with the highest levels of governance. This was the intent with which we launched our open offer for control, and we remain committed to that," the spokesperson added. Burmans had extended an open offer of Rs 2,116 crore to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL).

However, the response to this offer was minimal, with only 231,025 shares (0.07 per cent) being tendered out of the 9 crore shares (26 per cent) available. The tepid response to Burmans' open offer indicates a lack of enthusiasm from shareholders. The open offer, which was for the acquisition of up to 9,00,42,541 fully paid-up equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each, representing 26 per cent of the expanded voting share capital of REL from the public shareholders, was initiated by M B Finmart Pvt Ltd, Puran Associates Pvt Ltd, VIC Enterprises Pvt Ltd, and Milky Investment & Trading Company on January 27, 2025. Following the closing of the open offer on February 13, the date set for the payment of consideration was February 17, as per the data provided.

In September 2023, the Burman family, promoter of Dabur India and other entities such as Eveready Industries, announced a Rs 2,116-crore open offer to REL shareholders to acquire up to 26 per cent stake in the company. Following this, in January 2024, four entities purchased a 3.6 per cent stake in Religare Enterprises for Rs 277 crore through open market transactions. Puran Associates, Vic Enterprises, and M B Finmart, all entities of the Burman family, acquired shares in Religare Enterprises. Puran Associates, owned by Anand Burman and Minnie Burman, V.C. Burman's ownership of Vic Enterprises, and Mohit Burman's ownership of M B Finmart demonstrate the family's continued interest in diversifying their investments in the financial services industry.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has broken into the ranks of the top 10 most-valuable companies in India.

The exchange, valued at Rs 4,70,250 crore, is the highest value creator in percentage terms, according to the 2024 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 compilation. NSE, led by Ashishkumar Chauhan, surged 201 per cent in value.

It is ranked at 10th and saw a change of value of 179 per cent in the last four years. According to the Hurun list, NSE is also the most-valuable unlisted company in India. It moved up by one position, while Cyrus Poonawalla-led Serum Institute of India, slipped one position.

To be included in the ‘2024 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500’ list, companies must have a minimum value of Rs 9,580 crore, it said, which equalled $1.1 billion as of December 13, 2024.

The most-valued company, as per the list, is Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, valued at Rs 17.52 lakh crore, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, valued at Rs 16.10 lakh crore, HDFC Bank valued at Rs 14.22 lakh crore, Bharti Airtel at Rs 9.74 lakh crore, ICICI Bank at Rs 9.30 lakh crore, Infosys at Rs 7.99 lakh crore, ITC at Rs 5.80 lakh crore, Larsen & Toubro at Rs 5.42 lakh crore, HCL Technologies at Rs 5.18 lakh crore, and NSE at Rs 4.70 lakh crore.

When it comes to the most-valued unlisted companies, the list is topped by NSE, followed by Serum Institute of India, valued at Rs 2.11 lakh crore, Zoho Corporation valued at Rs 1.03 lakh crore, Zerodha at Rs 87,750 crore, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures at Rs 77,860 crore, Parle Products at Rs 68,640 crore, Intas Pharmaceuticals at Rs 68,150 crore, Dream11 at Rs 67,860 crore, Razorpay at Rs 63,620 crore, and Amalgamations at Rs 56,660 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services is expected to roll out the annual increases in March with payouts starting in April.

The hikes are reportedly likely to average 4-8 per cent. According to a report in The Economic Times, annual hikes at most top-tier companies have seen a gradual slowdown, which is in line with the industry’s growth trends. The COVID-19 period saw high, double digit growths in annual hikes. TCS’ compensation revision comes after Infosys informed its employees that the annual compensation revision letters will be issued before the end of March.

Reports stated that the hikes are expected to be in the range of 5-8 per cent. It must be mentioned that TCS had linked its hikes and variable payouts to employees’ compliance with its recent return-to-office mandate that it had announced in 2024. The latest hike will follow the quarterly variable pay (QVP) released in February for the October-December period. An employee working with TCS for eight years, told the financial daily that the hikes have been meagre for the past three-five years.

Meanwhile, TCS reported a 11.95 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 12,380 crore for the December quarter compared with Rs 11,058 crore in the same quarter last year. Net sales climbed 5.59 per cent to Rs 63,973 crore from Rs 60,583 crore in the corresponding period last year. Sales were up 4.5 per cent YoY in constant currency (CC) terms.