Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Incorporation’s cash stockpile reached a record $149.2 billion at the end of September, surpassing its previous record of $146.6 billion at the end of Q2 2020.
The fresh high came even as Buffett poured more money into buying back its own stock with $7.6 billion of repurchases in the period. The company's operating profit boosted 18% and stood at $6.47 billion in the third quarter from $5.48 billion year-on-year.
Buffett has struggled with a high-class problem of having too much money in Berkshire's pockets and not enough chances to put that to work in higher-returning assets.
The losses from Berkshire’s insurance underwriting business widened to $784 million during the third quarter, compared to $213 million a year ago, with all three of its major insurance groups reporting losses in underwriting. Catastrophe losses, including the sting of Hurricane Ida, totaled $1.7 billion after taxes during the period.
Berkshire’s net income fell 66% to $10.3 billion during the third quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the company’s statement. That figure includes swings in the conglomerate’s nearly $311 billion stock portfolio. The business’s Class A shares were down just slightly, a 1.7% decrease, during those three months ended September 30.
