Berkshire Soars as Buffett Shifts Focus to Takeovers

Warren Buffett said last year that Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s future will be about buying big businesses and expanding them over time. As he celebrates his golden anniversary running the company, investors are rallying behind the idea.

Shares of the Omaha, Nebraska-based company, which he took over in 1965, are trading close to an all-time high after climbing more than twice as much as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last year. They soared even as Buffett lost money on stakes in Tesco Plc and International Business Machines Corp., one of his biggest holdings.