Last night, the financial report released by Berkshire Hathaway, led by "the stock god" Buffett, showed that the net profit in the first quarter of this year was $4.603 billion, a significant decrease of 64% year-on-year; net investment losses reached $5.038 billion (approximately 36.633 billion yuan), compared to a profit of $1.48 billion in the same period last year.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett announced on May 3 at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting that he will retire from the CEO position at the end of this year and will recommend the company's vice chairman, Greg Abel, to take over. Unfortunately, Buffett did not witness the scenario of the Bitcoin collapse he once predicted before his retirement.
As of the end of the first quarter, Berkshire's cash position rose to $347.7 billion (approximately 25.283 trillion yuan), setting a new historical high. The total fair value of its equity investments is concentrated in American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Chevron, and Coca-Cola. Berkshire pointed out in a statement that there remains considerable uncertainty, including risks related to international trade policies and tariffs.
After the financial report was released, Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting was held in Omaha, where Buffett will take questions from shareholders for up to four and a half hours. This meeting coincides with the 60th anniversary of Buffett's leadership at Berkshire and is seen as the most important one in history, compounded by the backdrop of Trump's tariff policies stirring the global economy and Abel's succession.
Berkshire's latest financial report is out
On the evening of May 3, Beijing time, Berkshire Hathaway released its first-quarter report for the 2025 fiscal year, which showed that first-quarter revenue was $89.725 billion, down from $89.869 billion in the same period last year; first-quarter operating profit was $9.64 billion, down from $11.2 billion in the same period last year, mainly dragged down by insurance business affected by California wildfires; first-quarter net profit was $4.603 billion, a significant decrease of 64% year-on-year.
The financial report shows that Berkshire's net investment loss in the first quarter reached $5.038 billion (approximately 36.633 billion yuan), compared to a profit of $1.48 billion in the same period last year.
The underwriting profit from the insurance business nearly halved this quarter, partly due to after-tax losses related to the California wildfires amounting to approximately $860 million.
As of the end of the first quarter, Berkshire's cash position rose to $347.7 billion (approximately 25.283 trillion yuan), up from $334.2 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, setting a new historical high.
Berkshire net sold $1.5 billion in stock assets in the first quarter. This marks the tenth consecutive quarter of net stock sales.
Berkshire noted in a statement that there remains considerable uncertainty, including risks related to international trade policies and tariffs.
Analysis has indicated that Berkshire's massive cash buffer may have another purpose: to cope with potential turmoil during the company's management transition. KBW analyst Meyer Shields said, "Buffett has accumulated so much cash, possibly to prepare for a management transition."
The financial report indicates that as of March 31, 69% of the total fair value of Berkshire's equity investments is concentrated in American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Chevron, and Coca-Cola. The complete 13-F report of US long positions will be released before May 15.
As of the end of the first quarter, the fair value of fixed-income securities investments held by Berkshire reached $15.035 billion, with fair values of investments in US Treasury bonds, foreign bonds, and corporate bonds at $4.042 billion, $9.452 billion, and $1.541 billion, respectively. Berkshire's insurance float is approximately $173 billion, an increase of about $20 billion compared to the end of 2024.
It is worth mentioning that in the first quarter of this year, Berkshire did not conduct any stock buybacks. Since the third quarter of 2024, Buffett has stopped the stock buyback operations that had been ongoing for six years.
Returning to the market perspective, this year, Berkshire's stock price performance has been particularly eye-catching. As of this Friday's close, Berkshire-A shares have surged 18.86% year-to-date, continuing a strong trend of "ten consecutive days of gains." During the same period, the S&P 500 index has fallen over 3%.
As stock prices rise against the trend, Berkshire's valuation continues to climb. As of Friday's close, the price-to-book ratio of Berkshire Class A shares is 1.79 times, the highest level since 2007, with a corresponding price-to-earnings ratio of 25 times based on expected earnings in 2025, exceeding the S&P 500 index's price-to-earnings ratio by about 20 times.
Wall Street analysts have warned that Berkshire's profit growth may be limited in the next one to two years, and investors need to be wary of the risks posed by high valuations and assess whether it can continue to outperform the market in the future.
"The annual grand event of the global investment community" is coming
Following the financial report, "the annual grand event of the global investment community"—Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting will be held in Omaha, where Buffett, his designated successor Greg Abel, and insurance business head Ajit Jain will again take the stage to answer questions from global shareholders.
According to Berkshire's data, the 2025 shareholder meeting attracted more than 40,000 investors from around the world.
According to the agenda, the Q&A session will start at 8:00 AM local time (21:00 Beijing time) and last until 10:30 AM, with a half-hour break, and the second half will continue from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, ending at 2:00 AM Beijing time on the 4th.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Buffett's acquisition of Berkshire, and the total duration of the Q&A session at the shareholder meeting was reduced by about one hour compared to last year, shortened to four and a half hours, possibly to accommodate Buffett's advanced age. Buffett will turn 95 this August.
In the shareholder letter released in February, Buffett clearly stated that "it won't be long" before Abel takes over.
Meanwhile, under the US so-called "reciprocal tariff" policy, investors are more focused on the key issues of how Buffett views the impact of tariffs on Berkshire's many businesses and the outlook for the US economy, and whether there will be an opportunity to bottom out in April; in a highly uncertain environment, how Berkshire will utilize its massive cash reserves for new acquisitions or buybacks; and whether Buffett will adjust his holdings in major US stocks, especially those sensitive to tariffs like Apple.
Therefore, this year's Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting is also regarded as the most important one in history.