Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Abel smashes earnings, cash pile hits $400 billion
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) posted a bigger first-quarter profit under Greg Abel, while its cash mountain climbed near $400 billion and showed how hard it still is for the company to find deals at prices it likes. The company said operating profit rose 18% to $11.35 billion, equal to about $7,891 per Class A share, compared with $9.64 billion a year ago. The numbers came even as weaker demand hit some of Berkshires consumer-facing businesses. Net income more than doubled to $10.1 billion, or $7,027 per Class A share, from $4.6 billion last year. Berkshire still tells investors not to treat that figure like the main scorecard because it includes paper gains and losses from stocks the company may keep. Berkshire sells more stocks as Abel keeps the cash pile close to $400 billion Berkshire ended March with $380.2 billion in cash. That figure did not include some U.S. Treasury bill purchases that had not settled by March 31. The real point is plain: the cash pile is huge, and Berkshire still has not found enough large targets that fit its value style. The company has been waiting for a major acquisition for years. Prices across public and private markets have made that harder. So