Berkshire's mounting cash pile could top $200 billion as Buffett continues selling stock
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Berkshire Hathaway's highly scrutinized cash pile could top $200 billion — more than the entire annual gross domestic product of Hungary — amid CEO Warren Buffett's rare sale of some of his favorite stocks.
The Omaha-based conglomerate is likely to say its cash hoard topped the previous record of $189 billion, set in the first quarter, when it reports second-quarter earnings Saturday morning. Berkshire's results come at a time when Buffett has been offloading winning investments in Apple, Bank of America and BYD, leading some to believe the Oracle of Omaha has grown concerned that the bull market is overheated.
«It does look like he wants to de-risk the portfolio a little bit,» Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust Company and a Berkshire shareholder, said early in the week. «He's trimming two top holdings and you don't get anything more economically sensitive than the banks. The market seems so sure right now of a soft landing, and maybe he's taking more of a contrarian view.»
Berkshire has been a net seller of stocks for six straight quarters. Notably, Buffett trimmed his massive Apple bet by 13% in the first quarter for tax reasons after reaping enormous gains. The selling could have resumed in the second quarter as shares of the iPhone maker jumped 23% in the period.
Meanwhile, in a surprising move, the conglomerate recently started dumping Bank of America shares — its second-biggest holding after Apple. Over the past 12 trading sessions, Berkshire has sold $3.8 billion of the Charlotte-based bank's shares. (The BofA sales began in July and won't be reflected in the second-quarter report.)
Buffett's gigantic war chest has been earning sizeable returns thanks to the jump in Treasury
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