Berkshire Hathaway's cash hoard bulges as earnings fall below of projections.

Conglomerate net earnings decreased 63% to $4.67 billion between January and March 2025 from $12.83 billion a year earlier.

At $89.73 billion, Berkshire Hathaway's first-quarter sales was essentially unchanged from the same period last year, down 0.2%.  According to data analysis firm Tipranks, which is based on artificial intelligence, the company's net profit was $4.6 billion, with earnings per share coming in at $2.13 instead of the consensus projection of $4.72.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B

By the end of March, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term securities totaled $347.68 billion, up more than $13 billion over the previous three months. This is the eighth consecutive quarter in which the business has sold more stocks than it has purchased.

Ahead of its annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the company announced in a statement on Saturday that its operating earnings had dropped 14% from the previous year to $9.6 billion.

Additionally, Warren Buffet's business issued a warning about how Donald Trump's trade war and tariffs will affect future profits. 

 "We are currently unable to reliably predict the nature, timing or magnitude of the potential economic consequences of any such changes or the impacts on our Consolidated Financial Statements," the business stated in the filing.

 Sixty-nine percent of the portfolio was made up of the fair value of the investment firm's five biggest holdings: Apple Inc., Bank of America Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, American Express Company, and Chevron Corporation.

Even though the insurance arm lost $860 million (after taxes) as a result of the California disaster, its investment income increased 11% to $2.9 billion.  Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations Ajit Jain stated, "There is no doubt that the private equity firms have entered the space, and we are no longer competitive in this space."

 Despite raising costs to grow market share, Berkshire's auto insurer, Geico, reported a 13% rise in pre-tax earnings.  According to Jain, the unit has cut its workforce from 50,000 to 20,000, but it did not indicate when the cut was made.