New York (CNN Business)Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway returned to profitability in the first quarter of this year after reporting a nearly $50 billion loss during the first quarter of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB), a sprawling conglomerate that owns companies ranging from the Geico insurance giant and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad to well-known consumer brands like Dairy Queen, Benjamin Moore paints and Duracell batteries, posted a net profit of $11.7 billion and operating profit (the metric Buffett prefers to highlight) of $7 billion.Berkshire Hathaway said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Saturday that revenue for many of its manufacturing, services and retailing businesses “experienced significant recoveries in revenues and earnings” over the past few months as the economy has reopened.
But despite this optimism, Berkshire Hathaway also continued to plow money into buying back its own stock as opposed to using cash to do more acquisitions.
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in pictures
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesWarren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, attends an event in Washington, DC, in 2012. He is celebrating his 90th birthday this year.Hide Caption 1 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 30, 1930. He was the only son of Laila and Howard Buffett. Howard was a US congressman.Hide Caption 2 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesA young Buffett, far left, is seen with his grandfather, Ernest, as well as his cousins and two sisters.Hide Caption 3 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesLaila Buffett poses with her three children — from left, Roberta, Warren and Doris. Hide Caption 4 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesWarren Buffett stands in front of his childhood home in Omaha.Hide Caption 5 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett teaches a class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.Hide Caption 6 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett married his first wife, Susan, in 1952. They had three children together: Peter, Howard and Susan. The latter two are seen here with their parents.Hide Caption 7 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett and his wife pose at the beach with their three children.Hide Caption 8 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett poses for a photo in 1980.Hide Caption 9 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett testifies before a House subcommittee after the Salomon Brothers investment bank was caught in a treasury bond scandal in 1991. Buffett took over as the company’s chairman of the board to guide it out of troubles with the Federal Reserve System.Hide Caption 10 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett attends one of Berkshire’s annual shareholders meeting. Seated with him here are his daughter Susan, left, and his wife Susan. Buffett’s wife died in 2004.Hide Caption 11 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett arrives at an Omaha Dairy Queen to autograph books and chat with Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in 2002. Many people were in Omaha for Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting, which has been described as “the Woodstock of Capitalism.”Hide Caption 12 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett attends a GEICO ceremony in Trenton, New Jersey, in 2004.Hide Caption 13 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett joins California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during a meeting of Wall Street investors in New York in 2004. Buffett advised Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial campaign in 2003.Hide Caption 14 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett sits atop a fake bull at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in 2006.Hide Caption 15 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett stacks his chips at a charity poker tournament in Omaha in 2006.Hide Caption 16 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett plays the ukulele with a band during the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in 2007. He learned the instrument decades ago.Hide Caption 17 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett stands in front of a portrait of himself, painted by Michael Israel, in 2008.Hide Caption 18 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett throws out the first pitch before a Kansas City Royals baseball game in 2008.Hide Caption 19 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett sits with Girl Scouts in Omaha in 2008.Hide Caption 20 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett uses a large paddle to play table tennis in 2010.Hide Caption 21 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates enjoy a meal together at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha in 2010. That year, the two launched The Giving Pledge, which encourages the world’s billionaires to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.Hide Caption 22 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett is sworn in to testify before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in 2010. The bipartisan committee was created by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis.Hide Caption 23 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesPresident Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Buffett in 2011. “Today, we know Warren Buffett not only as one of the world’s richest men, but also one of the most admired and respected,” Obama said. “Unmoved by financial fads, he has doggedly sought out value, put his weight behind companies with promise and demonstrated that integrity isn’t just a good trait — it is good for business.”Hide Caption 24 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett is mobbed by journalists and shareholders during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting in 2011.Hide Caption 25 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett talks with his son Peter before the start of the shareholders meeting in 2011.Hide Caption 26 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett poses for a photo in Omaha in 2012.Hide Caption 27 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett and his second wife, Astrid, arrive at the White House for a state dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012. The next month, Buffett confirmed that he had been diagnosed with Stage 1 prostate cancer. He underwent radiation treatments and told Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that the cancer was “not remotely life-threatening.”Hide Caption 28 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett looks out at Omaha in 2012.Hide Caption 29 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett wears a Woodrow Wilson High School jacket as he attends an event in Washington, DC, in 2012. Buffett graduated from the Washington high school in 1947.Hide Caption 30 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett is photographed for Forbes magazine in 2012.Hide Caption 31 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett listens as his son Howard speaks during an interview in New York in 2013. Buffett and his late first wife, Susan, gave and pledged billions to each of their three children to fund charitable foundations. Howard, an Illinois farmer, picked global hunger as his target.Hide Caption 32 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett spins a basketball with the help of Chris “Handles” Franklin, one of the Harlem Globetrotters, at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in 2013. At left is football star Ndamukong Suh.Hide Caption 33 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett and Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger are seen on a giant screen during the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in 2013.Hide Caption 34 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett arrives for a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2014.Hide Caption 35 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett introduces products to shareholders before their annual meeting in 2014.Hide Caption 36 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett goofs off with Cleveland Cavaliers mascot Moon Dog prior to an NBA game in 2014.Hide Caption 37 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett does an interview in 2015.Hide Caption 38 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett listens as presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during an event in Omaha in 2015. Buffett said at the rally that he was supporting Clinton’s bid for president because they share a commitment to help the less affluent.Hide Caption 39 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett attends the world premiere of “Becoming Warren Buffett,” a documentary about his life, in 2017.Hide Caption 40 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett attends Forbes’ 100th anniversary gala in New York in 2017.Hide Caption 41 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett walks through the exhibit hall during Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders meeting in 2019.Hide Caption 42 of 43
Photos: Warren Buffett: His life in picturesBuffett speaks during Berkshire Hathaway’s virtual shareholders meeting in May 2020.Hide Caption 43 of 43
Berkshire Hathaway spent nearly $6.6 billion to repurchase the more expensive Class A shares as well as the more affordable Class B stock in the quarter. Read MoreEven after those stock purchases, Berkshire’s massive cash pile has grown. It now has about $145.4 billion in cash on its balance sheet, up from $138.3 billion at the end of 2020.One Berkshire A share (BRKA), which has never split its stock, is now trading at $412,500. The B shares, which do split in order to be more affordable for average investors, closed at a price of just under $275 on Friday.Berkshire’s two classes of stock have both rebounded with the broader market this year. They are each up nearly 20% so far in 2021.Still, some investing experts wonder if Buffett has lost his magic touch. Berkshire, despite making bets on top tech stocks like Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) during the past few years, has lagged the broader market as of late. Berkshire Hathaway stock is up about 90% in the past five years while the S&P 500 has more than doubled and the Nasdaq has soared nearly 200%.
Buffett, along with Berkshire vice chairmen Charlie Munger, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, will talk more about the stock market rebound and economy as well as a host of other issues later Saturday when the company hosts its annual shareholder meeting.The meeting, which will be held in Los Angeles instead of Berkshire’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, will be a virtual event for the second straight year due to Covid-19 and will be broadcast live on Yahoo Finance starting around 12:30 ET.
Source: edition.cnn.com