Berkshire Hathaway's Cash Reserves Hit Record High Ahead of Warren Buffett's Retirement

Berkshire Hathaway's Cash Reserves Reach $381.7 Billion
Some Suggest Buffett Sees Stocks as Overvalued

The cash reserves of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm led by Chairman Warren Buffett, have reached an all-time high.

On November 1 (local time), Bloomberg reported that Berkshire Hathaway's cash holdings hit a record high of $381.7 billion (approximately 546 trillion won) at the end of the third quarter, ahead of its annual shareholders' meeting in Omaha, Nebraska.

Chairman Buffett is a value investing strategist who selects stocks based on a company's intrinsic value and holds them for the long term. Some observers interpret the record-high cash reserves at Berkshire Hathaway, which adheres to value investing, as a sign that Chairman Buffett may believe the current stock market is overvalued.

Regarding this, Cathy Seifert, an analyst at financial market research firm CFRA Research, predicted that if Vice Chairman Greg Abel, who will succeed Buffett, fails to utilize the enormous cash reserves efficiently, there will be increasing demands for dividend payments.

Greg Abel, Buffett's designated successor, has overseen all of Berkshire Hathaway's non-insurance operations since 2018. At the annual shareholders' meeting held in May, Warren Buffett officially announced his retirement by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, according to the third-quarter results released on this day, Berkshire Hathaway's net profit surged to $30.796 billion (about 44 trillion won), up significantly from $26.251 billion (about 37.5 trillion won) in the third quarter of last year. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway's operating profit soared to $13.585 billion (about 19.2929 trillion won), thanks to a rebound in its insurance business.