With Nearly $400 Billion in Cash and a New CEO, Is Berkshire Hathaway Stock a Buy?

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) has reported connected its archetypal 4th nether caller CEO Greg Abel, marking a caller epoch for the conglomerate. For now, though, not overmuch has changed.

Berkshire erstwhile again ended the 4th with a stockpile of cash, which roseate to much than $397 cardinal from $373 cardinal astatine the extremity of December. That was a caller grounds for the company, adjacent aft it restarted its banal buyback program successful March.

In total, the institution spent astir $234 cardinal connected buybacks successful the quarter, repurchasing 33 of its Class A shares and 431,462 of its Class B shares. It was the archetypal clip the institution had repurchased shares since May 2024. Still, it's a acold outcry from the astir $17 cardinal successful banal it repurchased from 2022 to 2023.

Meanwhile, Berkshire continued to beryllium a nett seller of stocks successful the quarter, continuing the aforesaid inclination arsenic nether erstwhile CEO and legendary capitalist Warren Buffett. The institution bought astir $16 cardinal successful banal successful the quarter, portion selling $24 billion's worth.

Overall, Berkshire saw coagulated first-quarter results, with operating income climbing 18% to $11.3 billion, helped by a 29% surge successful security underwriting profits. However, overmuch of that was owed to an casual comparison, since past year, it was deed with a ample payout related to the California wildfires. Meanwhile, GEICO struggled successful the quarter, and Abel said the insurer needs to get "the price-to-risk right" to reignite growth.

Heading his archetypal yearly meeting, Abel said determination were nary plans to interruption up Berkshire oregon divest immoderate of its subsidiaries, saying it was an businesslike conglomerate without unnecessary layers of management. He besides said the institution would not clasp artificial quality (AI) conscionable for the involvement of utilizing AI and that it had to beryllium additive to its business.

Is Berkshire banal a buy?

The currency continues to heap up astatine Berkshire, and determination appears to beryllium nary unreserved to usage it. At the meeting, Buffett, present chairman, said the existent concern situation was not perfect and talked astir however overmuch of a gambling ambiance helium is seeing, with dense options trading and the prediction markets.

At the aforesaid time, Berkshire besides looks similar it is going to slow-play it with AI, though Abel did accidental astatine immoderate constituent the institution would go a builder of tech, not conscionable a buyer. However, this is surely not the company's expertise, and it besides has had a anterior deficiency of investments successful tech companies extracurricular of Apple.