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In the first quarter under the leadership of the new CEO Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway continued to sell shares, lifting its cash holdings to $380 billion.
Berkshire’s Q1 2026 financial report, published Saturday (May 2), showed cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries rising by $7 billion from the end of 2025. The increase came during a period of financial market volatility linked to the US-Iran conflict, when Berkshire appeared to avoid large investment commitments.
The company’s cash holdings are partly driven by regulatory requirements designed to protect customers in Berkshire’s insurance operations. Still, investors and analysts said Berkshire has sufficient liquidity to pursue a large takeover or buy minority stakes in publicly listed companies.
In Q1, Berkshire sold $24 billion of stock and bought $15.9 billion, resulting in the 14th consecutive quarter of net stock selling. The quarter marked the largest amount of stock sold since 2024, when Berkshire sold Apple shares. At the end of Q1 2026, the value of Berkshire’s stock portfolio stood at $288 billion.
Berkshire reported net income of $10.1 billion, more than double year-on-year.
Operating earnings from its subsidiaries rose 18% year-on-year to $11.3 billion. Berkshire’s operating earnings exclude movements in the stock portfolio, while net income includes gains or losses from stock investments.
The quarterly report was released at Berkshire’s annual meeting, the first chaired by Abel after he took over as CEO earlier this year. The event in Omaha drew tens of thousands of shareholders.
However, compared with prior years when Warren Buffett and longtime partner Charlie Munger (who died in 2023) led the meeting, attendance this year was lower. Reuters reported thousands of empty seats at the convention center, which has an 18,000-seat capacity.
Observers said Abel, 63, faces a major challenge partly because he is succeeding a legendary figure and partly because financial markets are shifting toward technology and AI stocks. They said he must win confidence from investors who may prefer a different portfolio mix than Berkshire’s traditional exposure to insurance, retail, energy, industrials, and manufacturing.
Speaking at the meeting, Abel said short-term thinking is not appropriate for a company of Berkshire’s size and market capitalization of about $1.02 trillion. He also said the group sees a unique opportunity to grow its businesses and redeploy capital.
“We can create long-term value for shareholders,” he said.
Buffett, 95, was also present to reassure shareholders that “Greg is doing everything I did before.”
In an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the meeting, Buffett warned about a risk-taking mentality among some investors. He said: “Never have we seen people with as much a gambling mindset as they are now. That doesn’t mean investing is bad, but the prices of many things could reach irrational levels.”
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