Berkshire Hathaway's latest earnings report reveals a massive $397 billion cash pile, marking a new record for the company. The Q1 2026 results, the first under new CEO Greg Abel, show an 18% jump in operating earnings to $11.35 billion. Net income more than doubled to $10.1 billion, driven by a strong performance in insurance underwriting, which saw a 28.5% increase in profit to $1.72 billion.
Despite holding nearly $400 billion in cash, Berkshire Hathaway continues to avoid investing in Bitcoin or other digital assets. This stance mirrors the long-held views of Warren Buffett, who has famously dismissed Bitcoin as "rat poison squared". While Abel has been less vocal on the subject, his capital allocation decisions in Q1 indicate a continuation of Buffett's anti-crypto strategy. This is despite the increasing acceptance of Bitcoin among institutional investors and the significant inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs since their launch in 2024.
Berkshire's reluctance to embrace Bitcoin stands in contrast to other major companies that have added the cryptocurrency to their balance sheets. However, the company has made some indirect investments in the crypto space through its holdings in companies like Nu Holdings. Berkshire's Q1 report also indicated that the company was a net seller of equities, offloading $24.1 billion in stock while purchasing $16 billion. The company repurchased $235 million of its own stock, the first buybacks in nearly two years.
While some analysts speculated that Abel might bring a more open-minded approach to crypto investing, Berkshire's recent actions suggest that the company's conservative investment philosophy, focused on value and tangible assets, remains firmly in place. The massive cash pile suggests Berkshire is finding it difficult to identify sizable acquisitions that meet its criteria.
