Where does Berkshire Hathaway keep its cash?
While interest rates are high, most of Berkshire's "cash" is actually invested in short-term Treasuries, which currently have interest rates above 5%. So, Berkshire's cash is actually generating billions of dollars in additional cash for the company.
What Berkshire is currently doing with its cash hoard. In the near term, Buffett appears content with holding the majority of Berkshire's cash in Treasury bills -- a short-term security backed by the U.S. Treasury Department with a maturity of one year or less. As of Dec.
His fortune is largely tied to his investment company.
The vast majority of Buffett's net worth is tied to Berkshire Hathaway, his publicly traded conglomerate that owns businesses like Geico and See's Candies and holds multibillion-dollar stakes in companies like Apple and Coca-Cola.
| Source | Revenue in $US Billion |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | $68.73 |
| McLane Company | $49.45 |
| GEICO | $37.71 |
| Service and Retailing | $34.83 |
Cash on Hand as of December 2023 : $167.64 B
According to Berkshire Hathaway 's latest financial reports the company has $167.64 B in cash and cash equivalents. A company's cash on hand also refered as cash/cash equivalents (CCE) and Short-term investments, is the amount of accessible money a business has.
Bank of America accounts for over 11% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, making it the company's second-largest investment. (Apple, the largest investment, accounts for nearly 39% of the portfolio). At the end of March 2023, Buffett's company owns 1.01 billion shares, a value of about $33.45 billion.
He follows a simple investing strategy which involves buying profitable businesses with steady growth and strong management teams. He especially likes companies returning money to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks, which helps Berkshire compound its money more quickly.
- American Express: 20.6% stake. ...
- Ally Financial: 9.6% Stake. ...
- Bank of America: 13% Stake. ...
- Capital One: 3.3% Stake. ...
- Citigroup: 2.9% Stake. ...
- Nu Holdings: 2.3% Stake.
Simplicity has been at the center of Buffett's strategy for decades. With Berkshire holding a record $168 billion of cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet, investors must surely be wondering what Buffett is thinking. I'd say he just told us, and I think it makes a lot of sense.
Warren Buffett's Unwavering Choice: The 2014 Cadillac XTS
Buffett's current vehicle, the 2014 Cadillac XTS that he has owned for approximately ten years, is a testament to his reputation for frugality.
How much cash does Berkshire have on hand?
Berkshire ended the third quarter of 2023 with $157 billion in cash on its balance sheet, an all-time high. And there's a high probability that this figure grew even larger by the end of last year.
The top three individual shareholders are Warren Buffett, Susan Buffett, and Ronald Olson. The company's top three institutional shareholders are Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street.
Total debt on the balance sheet as of December 2023 : $128.27 B. According to Berkshire Hathaway 's latest financial reports the company's total debt is $128.27 B. A company's total debt is the sum of all current and non-current debts.
| Symbol | Holdings | |
|---|---|---|
| American Express Company | AXP | 151,610,700 |
| Aon PLC | AON | 4,100,000 |
| Apple Inc | AAPL | 905,560,000 |
| Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc Series C | BATRK | 223,645 |
A) Cash per Share. Cash per Share is calculated as Balance Sheet Cash And Cash Equivalents divided by Shares Outstanding (EOP). Berkshire Hathaway's Cash per Share for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $26,377.06.
The majority of Gates' financial assets are investments in corporations managed by Cascade Investments, LLC, an entity now partially run by Gates to purchase stakes in various businesses. He is assumed to have roughly $12 billion stored here, for future investments.
McDonald's
It's important to clarify that McDonald's stock is not directly in Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. Rather, its position is held in New England Asset Management (NEAM), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Berkshire Hathaway has exited Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and other lenders since early 2020. Buffett said he soured on some banks after they misled investors and made basic mistakes.
In 2023, Berkshire generated $37.4 billion in operating earnings, an increase of 21% from $30.9 billion in 2022. As a result of Berkshire's strong business performance, and being a net seller of its stock holdings in 2023, the company's cash position soared from $128.5 billion to $167.8 billion, or an increase of 31%.
Why is Berkshire so profitable?
Berkshire Hathaway's insurance underwriting operations played a crucial role in its profitability, providing $5.4 billion in operating earnings compared to a modest loss the previous year. Buffett's property and casualty businesses benefited from higher underwriting premiums and lower realized payouts from claims.
Berkshire owns shares in two prominent S&P 500 funds, but they're far from the only ones on the market. Each one you come across will give you roughly the same exposure and roughly the same returns. The major differentiator is cost. Take the two funds in Buffett's portfolio.
Berkshire has built a fortress balance sheet over the past 58 years with a record $167.6 billion in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments on hand at the end of 2023: A chart showing Berkshire Hathaway's cash pile from 2017 to 2023.
Berkshire Hathaway Free Cash Flow (Quarterly): 8.692B for Dec. 31, 2023.
