Overview
- Berkshire said Saturday that operating earnings rose 18% to $11.35 billion as cash and equivalents reached $397.4 billion, or about $380.2 billion after a $17.2 billion unsettled Treasury-bill payable.
- The conglomerate trimmed its stock portfolio again, selling $24.09 billion and buying $15.94 billion, and it restarted buybacks with about $234 million of Berkshire shares repurchased in March.
- Insurance underwriting profit improved to roughly $1.7 billion even as Geico’s earnings fell, and profits increased at BNSF Railway, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and the manufacturing, service, and retail group.
- At the Omaha meeting, Abel earned positive reviews and Buffett publicly backed his leadership, though the arena drew a smaller crowd than in Buffett-led years.
- Abel emphasized operational upgrades and selective use of AI to improve businesses such as BNSF and to position Berkshire’s utilities for rising power demand from data centers.