Berkshire stacks cash in Abel’s quarter

Berkshire Hathaway’s first quarter under Greg Abel looked strong on paper. Operating earnings rose, net income more than doubled, and the company’s cash pile hit a fresh record. But the real story is simpler — Berkshire is still generating a huge amount of cash faster than it can put that cash to work. That matters because Berkshire is no longer being judged only as Warren Buffett’s empire. It is now Greg Abel’s company to run day to day. And in his first quarter as CEO, the biggest signal was caution, not expansion. (berkshirehathaway.com) ### What actually came in this quarter? Berkshire said first-quarter operating earnings were $11.346 billion, up from $9.641 billion a year earlier. Net earnings attributable to shareholders were $10.106 billion, versus $4.603 billion last year, though Berkshire itself keeps warning that GAAP net income swings around with market prices and can be misleading. The cleaner number is operating earnings — and that improved. (berkshirehathaway.com) ### Where did the improvement come from? A lot of the lift came from the operating businesses rather than the investment portfolio. Insurance underwriting rose to $1.717 billion from $1.336 billion. BNSF earned $1.377 billion versus $1.214 billion. Berkshire Hathaway Energy was roughly steady at $1.114 billion. Manufacturing, service and retailing also improved to $3.199 billion (berkshirehathaway.com). (businesswire.com) ### Why is everyone focused on the cash pile? Because the cash number is enormous even by Berkshire standards. Berkshire’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term Treasury holdings climbed to about $397 billion, the highest level on record. That happened after the company was a net seller of equities in the quarter, u(businesswire.com) find enough new ones it liked. (bloomberg.com) ### Is that a good sign or a bad one? Both. The good version is that Berkshire is staying disciplined. Abel is not forcing deals just to prove he is active. That fits the Berkshire playbook — wait, keep liquidity high, and strike when prices make sense. But the bad version is obvious too: if you are sitting on nearly $400 billion, investors start asking why that money is not earning more inside the business or in new acquisitions. (bloomberg.com) ### Why does this land differently under Abel? Because Buffett is no longer the default answer to every Berkshire question. Abel took over as CEO at the start of 2026, and this annual meeting is the first one with him in the main seat while Buffett remains chairman. Investors are now looking for Abel’s own style on capital a(bloomberg.com)test. (cnbc.com) ### What are investors worried about? Part of it is performance. Berkshire shares have lagged the S&P 500 badly since Buffett signaled last May that he would step down as CEO. CNBC put the gap at more than 30 percentage points, while Reuters framed it at 39 points into this year’s meeting. The exact tally moves with the market, b(cnbc.com)and AI. (cnbc.com) ### So what is the real takeaway? The quarter says Berkshire is still a cash machine. It also says the company is still waiting. Abel did not stumble out of the gate — operating results were solid. But he also did not answer the biggest question hanging over Berkshire: what do you do when you have almost $400 billion and not much looks cheap enough to buy? (berkshirehathaway.com) ### Bottom line Abel’s first quarter was steady, not transformative. Berkshire made more money, sold more stocks, and stacked even more cash. Now comes the harder part — showing that patience is still a strategy, not just a parking place. (berkshirehathaway.com)