Overview
- Berkshire said Saturday that operating earnings rose about 18% to $11.35 billion in its first quarter under CEO Greg Abel.
- Cash and short‑term investments reached a record $397.4 billion, with an effective balance near $380.2 billion after a $17.2 billion unsettled Treasury‑bill payable.
- The company sold about $24.1 billion of stocks and bought roughly $15.9 billion, making it a net seller by around $8.1 billion, and it resumed share buybacks with about $234 million repurchased.
- Insurance underwriting profit increased to roughly $1.7 billion, even as Geico’s pretax underwriting earnings fell by about a third.
- At Saturday’s annual meeting in Omaha, Abel stressed careful capital deployment and hands‑on operating focus, and a smaller crowd offered generally positive reviews of his debut.