Berkshire Hathaway’s Recent Performance and Future Outlook

Warren Buffett is set to address the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, scheduled for May 3, 2025.

Following a report of a slight dip in operating profits, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares took a hit. The conglomerate, based in Omaha, saw its operating profits drop to $11.16 billion in the second quarter, which is a 4% decrease from the previous year. While sectors like railroads, energy, manufacturing, services, and retail showed improved profits compared to last year, a downturn in insurance underwriting impacted the overall results.

Shares of Berkshire’s Class A and B experienced a decline of over 2% on Monday after these announcements. This follows a drop of roughly 12% since hitting an all-time high in early May when Buffett announced that Greg Abel would succeed him as CEO by the end of 2025.

The disappointing performance was partly attributed to a loss of $3.8 billion from Kraft Heinz—an investment that represented a 27% stake. This news was unexpected as Kraft Heinz seems to be leaning towards divesting parts of its grocery operations. Additionally, two Berkshire executives resigned from Kraft Heinz’s board earlier in May.

Billstone, a CIO at Glenview Trust Company and a Berkshire shareholder, mentioned that Buffett has acknowledged that he may have overvalued his investment in Kraft Heinz, especially amid increasing competition in the food sector.

Buffett’s cash reserves of $344.1 billion remain close to record levels. Notably, Berkshire has been a net seller of stocks for several quarters, having sold off about $4.5 billion in shares in the first half of 2025.

The company also refrained from any stock buybacks during the first half of 2025, despite significant fluctuations in share prices. Analyst Kyle Sanders from Edward Jones suggested that while there may be a belief in Abel’s potential to gain investor trust over time, the lack of immediate action during the quarter might be somewhat disappointing.