Berkshire Hathaway profits drop as Warren Buffett's cash pile hits a fresh record high
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
- Berkshire Hathaway's profits dropped by 14% in the first quarter of 2025.
- The company's earnings, released Saturday, showed operating profits of $9.6 billion.
- Warren Buffett's firm also saw its cash pile hit a record high at the start of 2025.
Berkshire Hathaway reported Saturday that its profits dropped 14% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
The results, released shortly before CEO Warren Buffett speaks to investors at the company's much-watched annual meeting, showed Berkshire reported $9.64 billion in operating earnings in the first quarter, compared to over $11.2 billion in the same period last year.
Falling profits in Berkshire's insurance underwriting business were largely to blame for the overall drop, with profits down from $2.6 billion in Q1 2024 to $1.4 billion.
Elsewhere, Berkshire Hathaway's results showed that the company's cash pile hit a record high once again in the first quarter as Buffett's company continued to sell stocks. Berkshire held $347.7 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, the results showed.
Berkshire sold $4.7 billion worth of stocks in the first three months of 2025, while the company bought $3.2 billion worth.