Buffett Shades the Uber IPO

We’ve written a bit on Uber’s IPO, one of the most anticipated stock offerings in many years. However, one person who is not sharing in the enthusiasm is Warren Buffett, who is going to pass on this one. That’s part of a larger strategy the Oracle of Omaha abides by, which is not to invest in any new stock offerings as a practice. “The idea of saying the best place in the world I could put my money is something where all the selling incentives are there, commissions are higher, the animal spirits are rising, that that’s going to better than 1,000 other things I could buy where there is no similar enthusiasm … just doesn’t make any sense,” Buffett told CNBC.

It will be interesting to see if Uber follows the pattern of other hyped IPOs, which started hot and then cooled off, such as its rival Lyft, whose shares skyrocketed on the first day of trading but are down 20% since then.