Berkshire Sale Sends Taiwan Semiconductor Stock Tumbling

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. $Berkshire Hathaway-A (BRK.A.US)$ $Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$ sent shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. $Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ plunging as much as 6% Wednesday morning after unexpectedly dumping most of its stake in the chipmaker just months after taking a position.

Berkshire sold more than 50 million shares of Taiwan Semiconductor in the fourth quarter, or 86% of the $4.1 billion position it opened just three months prior, according to its latest 13F form.The company owned only $618 million of Taiwan Semiconductor stock as of the end of 2022.

Berkshire's about-face, an unusual move for a firm known for its long-term investments, could signal trouble for Taiwan Semiconductor and other chipmakers. The semiconductor industry is still reeling from COVID-related supply chain issues, the lingering effects of China's long lockdown period, and inflation.

Shares of competitors Qualcomm Inc. $Qualcomm (QCOM.US)$ , Advanced Micro Devices Inc. $Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$ , and NVIDIA Corp. $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ also retreated in early trading Wednesday.

Berkshire also sold about an eighth of its stake in video game maker Activision, jettisoning more than 7 million shares to leave it with about $4 billion invested in the company.

Berkshire began amassing its position in the video game maker in late 2021 as the stock tumbled to a one-year low of about $57 in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, but before Microsoft Corp. $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ announced plans to buy the game developer for $95 per share.

Activision shares have failed to achieve that price point since Microsoft's intention to purchase became public.

Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of Activision, which would be among the largest ever, hit obstacles in recent months as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and other regulators have opposed the deal on anti-competitive grounds.