OMAHA, Neb. (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. renowned for shunning technology shares, said he owns shares in Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. Catch is, it's 100 shares of each.
"I do it so I get the annual reports," Buffett told reporters following his annual meeting in Omaha, Neb. "I don't think it's a dumb thing to do if you're interested in investing, because you're able to read about those businesses."
Buffett scolded reporters for stories that Berkshire had taken a stake in Microsoft by buying preferred shares. The shares were short-term and matured last December.
"It was like a piece of short-term commercial paper that was yielding 150 basis points more" than other commercial paper, he said. "It had nothing to do with Microsoft. We probably made an extra $200,000 on it."
Buffett repeated that Microsoft isn't broke and doesn't need fixing over charges that the world's largest software company muscled out competition, in violation of antitrust laws.
"I don't see any stifling of innovation or capital," said Buffett. "Capital is cascading in, the best minds are pouring in, some of them for the wrong reason," presumably to cash out through initial public offerings.
Buffett said he wouldn't split Microsoft, which he said has already paid a penalty through the government's investigation.
"Microsoft has already taken the hit," said Buffett. "It's slowed down the organization."
U.S. officials on Friday told the judge who declared the company an antitrust violator that Microsoft should be split into two companies, one that sells the Windows operating system and one that sells applications.