Berkshire's Cash Pile Hits $377.4 Billion as It Sells More Stock Than It Buys in Q3

Since Berkshire Hathaway filed its third-quarter report Saturday morning, Nov. 7, the detail that stands out is where the cash went. It did not go into other companies' stock.

Berkshire was a net seller of equities last quarter under CEO Greg Abel. It bought $2.4 billion and sold $2.8 billion. In the second quarter it had bought a net $20 billion.

The cash pile

Cash, cash equivalents and Treasury bills rose 3% to $377.435 billion at the end of September, up from $365.514 billion at the end of June.

That gross number overstates what is free to deploy. Berkshire carries about $20.5 billion in Treasury payables tied to its rail and utility businesses. Business Insider, subtracting that amount, put the pile at roughly $357 billion, down about $8 billion on the quarter. 24/7 Wall St. calculated $352.3 billion excluding rail and utility payables, a 1.9% decline.

Either way, the stockpile has more than doubled since the end of 2023, according to Business Insider's count.

Buybacks instead of buying

Abel spent $9.6 billion repurchasing Berkshire stock, the busiest buyback quarter in years. David Kass, a University of Maryland finance professor and longtime Berkshire watcher, called the surge a "pleasant surprise."

Kass read the combination as a signal. Abel's buybacks alongside net stock selling, he told Business Insider, "indicates caution with respect to current market valuations other than Berkshire's."

The AP reported the repurchases likely stopped recently. Class A shares surged past $878,000 and topped their level before Warren Buffett announced his retirement plans at the May 2025 annual meeting. Class B shares jumped from below $500 at the end of September to a record above $570 this week, according to Business Insider.

Buffett gave up the chairman title in September. He had handed the CEO job to Abel in January.

The earnings

Operating earnings fell nearly 6% to $12.705 billion, or $8,907 per Class A share, from $13.485 billion a year earlier. The four analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted $8,821.84 per Class A share, so the per-share figure came in above that estimate.

Net earnings dropped 28% to $22.1 billion from $30.8 billion. Berkshire has long told investors to focus on operating earnings because investment gains and losses swing widely.

Insurance caused the decline. Underwriting profit across all Berkshire insurers fell to $1.35 billion from $2.37 billion. Geico produced $982 million, down from $1.77 billion a year ago.

CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said Geico is in a tough spot, with premiums declining while the average cost of claims rises. She noted that came even without major hurricanes or other catastrophes this year.

Chris Ballard, managing director at Check Capital, whose firm holds Berkshire, was less concerned. "It should be looking better. Progressive is doing better, but they were doing so well for so long. They had cut their advertising for quite a while there," he said. He added that Geico's results reflect renewed spending on its spokeslizard advertising.

Railroad, energy and manufacturing earnings all grew, offsetting part of the insurance drop.

Is the cash a warning or a cushion?

Sean Williams of The Motley Fool called the $377 billion a "warning" to Wall Street. He pointed out that Buffett and Abel have been net sellers of stocks in 15 of the last 16 quarters, and argued that a stockpile this size is hard for investors to ignore in a historically expensive market.

A different reading comes from 24/7 Wall St., which said the pile "cushions Berkshire in a downturn and funds deals." That outlet noted Berkshire shares are up 13.58% year to date through the Nov. 6 close and up 12.77% over the past month. CNBC reported the S&P 500 was up 7.8% for the year but down 5.5% for the month.

Seifert's concern is internal. "I think we're seeing the businesses that play to Greg's strengths do well. But the question is what about the rest of the franchise," she said, referring to the insurance operations.

Business Insider's verdict on Abel's first year: he has hewed closely to Buffett's approach, following the classic successor advice, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

What comes next

The quarterly report shows totals, not names. Berkshire's portfolio filing, due next week, will show which stocks Abel bought and sold in the third quarter.

The previous filing, as of June 30, showed $299.3 billion in stocks across 26 companies. The seven largest positions made up 80.8% of that total, according to 24/7 Wall St.

That filing will also show whether the $2.8 billion of selling came from trimming big positions or smaller ones.