Berkshire Hathaway Sits on Record $189B in Cash, Warren Buffett Dumps 13% from Apple Stake

Sprawling conglomerate’s stock portfolio slipped to $336 billion in the first quarter after $20 billion worth of stock was sold.

• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A trimmed its formidable Apple stake AAPL by 13% in the first quarter, the company’s earnings report showed. The sprawling conglomerate revealed it held $135.4 billion worth of Apple shares, down from roughly $174 billion, or about 115 million shares sold. Despite the huge offloading maneuver, the iPhone maker is still Berkshire’s biggest bet — around 800 million shares — comprising about 40% of its $336 billion portfolio.
• Berkshire exited the March quarter standing on a massive pile of $189 billion in cash — up from last quarter’s $167 billion — or the equivalent of 126 billion cans of Buffett’s favorite soft drink — Coca-Cola Cherry. Throughout the first quarter, the company sold stocks worth $20 billion and onboarded fresh picks for about $2.7 billion. Operating profit for the corporate giant surged 39% to $11.22 billion from the year-ago period. The increase was underpinned by earnings growth in the flagship business — insurance.
• Warren Buffett, 93, took the stage on Saturday, moments after the report’s release, and discussed the results in Berkshire’s annual meeting. The legendary investor fielded questions from the audience without the commanding presence of his late partner Charlie Munger. Instead, he was joined by his designated successor as CEO Greg Abel and head of insurance business Ajit Jain. Still, Buffett couldn’t help but slip up and call Gerg Abel “Charlie.”