Bloomberg / Contributor/ Getty Images
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported on Saturday that its first-quarter operating profits dropped 14.1% from the previous year.
The Omaha, Neb., based conglomerate reported operating earnings of $9.64 Billion, down from $11.22 Billion a year earlier, as Berkshire’s underwriting insurance business suffered a setback.
Berkshire’s holding firm, Warren Buffett, continued its selling spree, and ended the quarter with an all-time record of $347.7billion in cash, equivalents in cash and short-term investments made in U.S. Treasury bill. This was up from the previous quarter when it had $334.2billion. The company did no stock repurchases during the period.
Buffett’s growing reserve has left many investors wondering how the company might eventually deploy it—or keep adding to it—after Buffett suggested last year that there just aren’t many candidates satisfying Berkshire’s criteria.
Berkshire announced its latest results ahead of its annual shareholders’ meeting. The annual meeting attracts tens of millions of visitors annually to hear the “Oracle of Omaha”, who speaks about the first-quarter earnings of the company and the state of the economy, discuss.
Berkshire’s Class B shares have gained 19% this year, at a time when the S&P 500 has lost a little over 3% amid heightened volatility, with Friday’s gains bringing the benchmark index back to its pre-“Liberation Day” levels.
This article was updated since its first publication to include additional information.
