Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 07/21/10

By: tomgrisafi

Warren Buffett's two largest common stock investments in the commercial banking sector both reported strong results.

U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo both reported second-quarter earnings this morning that topped analyst expectations. Both stocks were up 2 percent or more in early-morning trading.

U.S. Bancorp, which made few dramatic moves during the credit crisis but has emerged better off than most due to its conservative lending standards, reported that its profit rose 63 percent and it made more loans in the second quarter than last year.

Wells Fargo, which is still in the process of integrating Wachovia Corp. into the fold, beat Wall Street expectations on earnings per share (55 cents) and matched revenue predictions ($21.4 billion).

Wells is Berkshire Hathaway's second-largest common stock holding behind only Coca-Cola. Berkshire's relatively newer stake in U.S. Bancorp is its ninth-largest common-stock holding.

Source: CNBC