Berkshire Hathaway Profits Slump and Huge Cash Pile Finally Sheds a Few Billions

Mountain of cash got $4 billion shaved off (a tiny figure, relative terms) and Berkshire took a write-down in Heinz to the tune of $3.8 billion.

🍅 Earnings Dip, and Heinz Turns Sour

• Berkshire Hathaway’s BRK.A second-quarter operating profits slipped 4% from the year-ago quarter to $11.2 billion — still big league, but a stumble for a conglomerate known for shrugging off market noise.
• The real gut punch came from Kraft Heinz, where Berkshire wrote down $5 billion in value, slashing its stake to $8.4 billion. That whacked $3.8 billion off net earnings after tax.
• The message? Packaged-food brands aren’t aging well, and not even Warren Buffett’s legendary holding power can sugarcoat a ketchup-flavored loss.

💸 Cash Still King, Just $4B Less Royal

• Berkshire’s legendary cash hoard dipped slightly to $344 billion from $348 billion in the previous quarter. For any other company, that’s life-changing. For Buffett? Probably a rounding error. Total revenues landed at $92.5 billion, down 1.2% from last year’s second quarter.
• Zero stock buybacks for the quarter — and none since May 2024. Even Buffett doesn’t want to pay up for Berkshire shares right now. Fast fact: the company’s class A stock is the most expensive stock on a per-share basis at just over $711,500 a piece.
• For the 11th straight quarter, Berkshire sold more stocks than it bought — a net $3 billion worth of stocks. That’s not just caution. With stocks raging out there and hitting new records, that’s a neon sign flashing: “Nothing is cheap enough.”

📉 Investors Nervous as Buffett Exit Looms

• Berkshire’s A shares are down 12% since Buffett’s retirement timeline dropped in May. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is up 10%. That gap speaks volumes about investors’ faith in Greg Abel’s leadership capabilities after the Oracle of Omaha steps down.
• Wall Street is clearly asking: What’s Berkshire going to be without Buffett? The lack of buybacks and new deals isn’t helping to calm nerves.
• With market valuations sky-high and a CEO transition in sight, investors are watching closely. Because when the person who’s been buying fear for over 60 years is retiring — it’s fair to ask who’s buying what next.