Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A / BRK.B) has reported that its cash pile swelled to a record $397.4 billion U.S. during this year’s first quarter.
The holding company previously led by Warren Buffett also posted a rise in its first-quarter operating earnings, driven largely by a rebound in its insurance business.
The operating profit from Berkshire’s wholly owned units, which include insurance and railroads, rose 18% from a year earlier.
Insurance underwriting led the gains, increasing 28.5% to $1.7 billion U.S.
As for the cash pile, it rose from a previous high of $381.6 billion U.S. set in the third quarter of last year.
The cash horde continues to grow through a combination of dividend payments and stock sales. Berkshire was a net seller of stocks in Q1, with $24.1 billion U.S. of equity sales in the period.
Some of the stock-selling activity may reflect changes to the portfolio following the departure of longtime investment manager Todd Combs, who left for JPMorgan Chase (JPM) last year.
At the end of March this year, Berkshire’s top five stock holdings were American Express (AXP), Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), Coca-Cola (KO), and Chevron (CVX).
More will be known about Berkshire’s massive $327.38 billion U.S. stock portfolio when the company’s latest 13f regulatory filing is made public later in May.
In March of this year, Berkshire Hathaway announced that it resumed stock buybacks for the first time since 2024. Berkshire repurchased $235 million U.S. of stock in the first quarter.
New Berkshire CEO Greg Abel led this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting and rejected suggestions that the company should be broken up.
While Warren Buffett wasn’t on the stage answering shareholder questions at this year’s meeting, he said in media interviews that he’s concerned about “gambling” in the stock market.
Berkshire Hathaway’s more affordable Class B stock has declined 8% over the last 12 months to trade at $473.01 U.S. per share.
Related Stories
