BRK.A: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Cashes Out $5B to Pile Record $157B in Dry Powder

The mega conglomerate reported a net loss of $12.8bn while the Oracle of Omaha kept adding to his cash pile as he saw little to bet on.

• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A dumped stocks worth a total of $5bn in the third quarter. The company extended its retreat from dealmaking activities for the fourth quarter in a row as it ended the three months to September with a record cash pile of the mouth-watering $157bn, up from $147bn at the end of the second quarter. Berkshire stock, the world’s most expensive by share price, is up 14% on the year to $533,815 per share.
• Berkshire, which owns dozens of blue-chip companies, collected $10.8bn in operating profit but its poorly-performing stock bets dragged financials to a net loss of $12.8bn, about four times more than the $2.8bn reported a year earlier. Investment losses more than doubled to $23.5bn from $10.4bn a year ago.
• Warren Buffett, also known as the Oracle of Omaha, saw his firm’s portfolio shrink to $319bn from $353bn a quarter earlier thanks largely to a $20bn hole left by Apple. Berkshire’s Apple stake, accounting for nearly a half of the total portfolio, chipped away at the bottom line as the iPhone maker’s shares fell 13% for the September quarter.