Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Yonhap News. 

Berkshire Hathaway, led by 'investment guru' Warren Buffett (94), has seen its astronomical cash holdings decline slightly for the first time in three years.

According to Berkshire's earnings report released on the 3rd (local time), the company's cash reserves stood at $344 billion (approximately 478 trillion KRW) as of the end of June, a 1% decrease from three months prior.

This marks the first time Berkshire’s cash holdings have dipped since 2022. Having rapidly accumulated cash throughout 2023–2024, the company’s recent moves have drawn significant attention from investors.

In particular, the doubling of its cash reserves throughout 2024 led some to interpret Buffett's strategy as preparation for a stock market crash.

Given that the cash balance is only slightly lower than the record high in the first quarter ($347.7 billion) and remains largely unchanged from the end of last year ($334.2 billion), it is interpreted that Berkshire has effectively halted further cash stockpiling this year.

Although the stockpiling has stopped, the company maintains a cautious stance toward the stock market.

During the second quarter, Berkshire sold approximately $3 billion worth of stocks and did not engage in any share buybacks.

Berkshire is well-known for its shareholder return policy, which focuses on share repurchases and cancellations rather than dividends. Given Buffett’s reputation for 'value investing,' investors tend to interpret Berkshire's suspension of share buybacks as a signal that the U.S. stock market is overvalued.

Meanwhile, Berkshire reported a $3.8 billion impairment charge on its stake in Kraft Heinz.

Kraft Heinz was formed in 2015 through the merger of food company Kraft and the "original ketchup maker" Heinz; Berkshire remains the largest shareholder, holding approximately a 27% stake.

Having suffered from lackluster performance for a long time, Kraft Heinz has been cited as one of Buffett’s notable investment failures, and the company is recently considering spinning off its grocery business.

In addition, Berkshire announced that its operating profit for the second quarter fell 4% year-on-year to $11.16 billion.

Increased spending by key insurance subsidiaries, such as GEICO, to expand market share contributed to the decline in profit.

Furthermore, Berkshire warned that geopolitical and macroeconomic issues, including the tariff policies of the Donald Trump administration, could weigh on future performance.

In its earnings report, Berkshire stated, "The pace of change in such events, including tensions resulting from international trade policy and tariff developments, accelerated in the first half of 2025," adding, "Considerable uncertainty remains regarding the ultimate outcome of these events."

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