ii view: Buffett builds Berkshire Hathaway cash pile to record high
He's not even buying shares in his own company, so does Warren Buffett’s caution offer guidance to other investors? We assess prospects.
3rd November 2025 11:20
by Keith Bowman from interactive investor
Third-quarter results to 30 September
- Operating earnings up 34% to $13.49 billion (£10.3 billion)
- Net earnings attributable to shareholders up 17% to $30.79 billion (£23.4 billion)
- Cash held of $381 billion (£290 billion), up from $344 billion in Q2
ii round-up:
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (NYSE:BRK.B) has reported record cash holdings, with the conglomerate headed by legendary investor Warren Buffett not even tempted to buy back any of the company’s own shares during the period.
Group cash held swelled to $381.6 billion as of late September, up from $344 billion at the end of the second quarter and higher than the previous record of $347.7 billion in March this year. Third-quarter operating profits, excluding any investment gains or losses, rose 34% from a year ago to $13.49 billion, driven by insurance underwriting profits of $2.37 billion versus $750 million in Q3 2024.
Shares in the S&P 500 company rose 1% in post results pre-market US trading having come into these latest numbers up by around 5% so far in 2025. That’s comfortably behind a 16% gain for the S&P 500 index year-to-date.
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Berkshire operates over 90 businesses including insurance operations, railway and energy companies and manufacturing businesses.
Berkshire profits including investment gains and losses climbed 17% from a year ago to $30.79 billion. Investment gains in 2025 include after-tax realised gains on sales of investments of $8.2 billion in the third quarter and $14.8 billion in the first nine months of 2025.
In May, Berkshire announced 95-year-old Warren Buffett would step down as chief executive at the end of 2025, with Greg Abel, current vice chairman of non-insurance operations, set to take over. Mr Buffett will remain chairman of the board. Berkshire shares are down around 7% over the last six months.
Quarterly profits for the group’s BSNF railway freight business rose 5% to $1.45 billion. Manufacturing, service and retailing related profits climbed 8% to $3.62 billion. Energy related profits fell by a similar amount to $1.49 billion.
Greg Abel will begin the duty of writing annual letters to shareholders in 2026. Fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results are likely to be announced early February.
ii view:
Run by Warren Buffett since 1965, conglomerate and investment company Berkshire Hathaway is tracked and invested in by large and small investors alike. Berkshire Hathaway shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the two classes of A and B shares, with the originally established ‘A’ class shares carrying considerably more voting power.
For investors, the previous death of key Berkshire executive Charlie Munger and with Buffett stepping back, a key attraction for many investors in the company may be removed. The continued lack of a major acquisition for Berkshire to spend its cash mountain on could be frustrating some investors. Costs generally for businesses remain elevated, while earnings for insurance underwriting can prove volatile given potential exposure to events such as wildfires and earthquakes.
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More favourably, Warren Buffett has overseen the leadership appointment to Greg Abel. The group’s diversity of businesses regularly sees gains for one division countering falls for another. The absence of any major business acquisitions likely underlines management’s patience in waiting for an appropriate value buying opportunity, while the absence of any share buybacks so far in 2025 could suggest that management believes there will be better buying opportunity ahead.
In all, the stepping back of Warren Buffett will likely see investors continuing to reassess prospects. That said, a cash mountain, Greg Abel’s own experience to date and Buffett’s continuing guidance is likely to be enough to convince most investors to stay put.
Positives:
- Diverse portfolio of industries and businesses
- Significant cash held
Negatives:
- Subject to macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties
- An eventual full exit by Warren Buffett
The average rating of stock market analysts:
Hold
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