In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche
What’s more intriguing is that Uncle Warren himself seemed to confirm such speculations with a cryptic remark to MSNBC. After calling Exxon a “wonderful company,” he said, “We thought we might have other uses for the money.”
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What is even stranger is you would have to sell almost four shares of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B (NYSE: BRK.B)[3] stock to get enough money to buy one share of Google’s Class B stock (NASDAQ: GOOG). On March 10, 2015, one share of BRK.B was selling for $143.85, while one share of GOOG was selling for $559.44.[4]
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Operating a bank would also allow Kroger to interphase directly with apps like Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Venmo and avoid the fees charged by the financial services industry. That alone might be enough to entice Kroger into banking.
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It looks as if the purveyors of digital wallets are going to have to do a lot of old fashioned marketing if they want to get the public to accept their products. That might give Current C an advantage in the digital wallet wars because some of the companies behind it, such as Kroger, are very good at marketing.
Read MoreThe writing is on the wall: today’s value shoppers want healthy, quality foods that are convenient but sold at the lowest price possible. Those trends seem to benefit Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Costco Wholesale. A potential loser here is Walmart (NYSE: WMT), which has a reputation for low quality and lousy customer service.
Read MoreCostco’s same sales increased by 7% in January, and shopper traffic increased by 5.8% indicating that the retail recovery has definitely reached its warehouse. Meanwhile Sam’s Club’s sales without fuel grew by just 1.6% in the 13 weeks that ended on Jan. 30, 2015, and .5% during the year that ended on Jan. 30, 2015.
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A very dark horse contender for an eBay acquisition would be Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BERK.B). Uncle Warren is famously technology adverse, but eBay does meet some of his criteria: it’s a good company with a strong brand that’s well respected on Main Street but undervalued by the market. It also has a business model that generates a lot of float and cash—two of Buffett’s favorite things.
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The retail environment has changed dramatically because of the value shopper. Those investors that realize it and invest accordingly will profit.
Read MoreBuffett’s move shows us the future of oil; it’ll be drilled in safe places like Canada while investors leave the Middle East to burn.
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Most investors seem to have missed a massive disruption in the world of American retail. Kroger (NYSE: KR), the venerable grocer, has successfully transformed itself into a highly effective and aggressive bulk discounter with capabilities rivaling those of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST).
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