Berkshire's large stake in HP ‘exemplifies’ Best Buy's optimistic view, CEO says

Berkshire Hathaway’s roughly $4.2 billion investment in HP Inc. supports Best Buy’s viewpoint that consumer demand for upgrades to their technology will sustain, chief executive Corie Barry told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday.

“I can’t tell you what [Berkshire CEO] Warren Buffet’s thinking, but I think his investment exemplifies our general point, which is, people are going to use technology more than ever, and they’re going to want to upgrade technology more than ever,” Barry said in an interview on “Mad Money.”

“We are already seeing upgrade cycles shorten for our customers in areas like computing and home theater. So people are interested in this new tech,” she added.

Berkshire purchased almost 121 million shares of HP, or around an 11% holding, according to securities filings. 

HP shares surged 14.75% on Thursday following the news.

Barry also said that the permanence of hybrid work means consumers want comprehensive technology systems that can easily transfer between their work and home offices.

“You need those things to work together. I need to be able to bring my work computer home and have it work on my home network and my home printer. And then I’m going to need to take my home iPad to work, so I can see the content while I’m in a meeting. All of those things constantly work together, and you’re going to continue to want to upgrade those.”

“So, this idea of constant innovation in our industry is actually probably one of the least understood factors,” she added.

Best Buy stock was up 1.11% on Thursday.

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