Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK.A) cash pile hit a record high of $149 billion in the third quarter as the company continued to sit on the sidelines rather than put its money to work in the stock market.
Berkshire announced a double-digit increase in its quarterly operating profit thanks to a continuous rebound in it railroad, utilities and energy businesses from the pandemic. The holding company reported operating income of $6.47 billion U.S. in the third quarter, rising 18% from $5.48 billion U.S. in the same quarter a year ago.
Berkshire said its myriad of businesses has benefited from the economic reopening as demand started to return to pre-pandemic levels. Operating earnings from its railroad, utilities and energy segment grew 11% year-over-year to $3.03 billion U.S. in the third quarter.
At the end of September, Berkshire’s cash pile reached a record $149.2 billion U.S., up from $144.1 billion U.S. in the second quarter. Warren Buffett hasn’t made a sizable acquisition in the last few years as valuations hit record highs and the deal-making environment turned competitive.
The record amount of cash came despite Berkshire’s aggressive share buyback program. The company repurchased $7.6 billion U.S. of its own stock in the third quarter, bringing the nine-month total to $20.2 billion U.S. Berkshire bought a record $24.7 billion U.S. of its own stock last year.
Overall earnings, which reflect Berkshire’s fluctuating equity investments, fell to $10.3 billion U.S. in the third quarter, marking a more than 60% decline year-over-year. Buffett stressed that investors shouldn’t put much emphasis on the quarterly changes in its investment gains or losses.
Berkshire Hathaway’s class B shares are up more than 24% this year at $287.88, sitting about 2% below their record high.
