As &#34;stock god&#34; Warren Buffett continues to sell stocks aggressively and no longer repurchases shares, his company Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves exceeded $300 billion in the third quarter.
According to the earnings report released last Saturday morning, as of the end of September, the Omaha-based conglomerate's cash reserves increased from $276.9 billion in the second quarter to a record $325.2 billion.
Buffett, known as the &#34;Oracle of Omaha,&#34; sold off most of his two major holdings (Apple and Bank of America), leading to a mountain of cash. Berkshire sold about a quarter of its massive Apple shares in the third quarter, marking the company's fourth consecutive quarter of reducing its Apple stock. Meanwhile, since mid-July, Berkshire has made over $10 billion in profits by selling its long-held Bank of America shares.
Overall, as Berkshire reduced its stock holdings worth $36.1 billion in the third quarter, the 94-year-old investor continues to be in a selling mood.
During this period, Berkshire did not repurchase any company stock amid the selling frenzy, marking the first time since the company changed its policy in 2018. With Berkshire's stock performance surpassing the market and reaching an all-time high, its repurchase activities had already slowed earlier this year.
The company repurchased only $345 million worth of stock in the second quarter, far below the $2 billion repurchased in each of the previous two quarters. Berkshire stated that it would repurchase stock when Buffett &#34;believes the repurchase price is below Berkshire's intrinsic value (conservatively determined).&#34;
Berkshire's Class A shares have risen 25% this year, exceeding the S&amp;P 500's year-to-date return of 20.1%. The company's market capitalization surpassed the $1 trillion milestone in the third quarter, setting a new historical high.
In the third quarter, Berkshire's operating profit totaled $10.1 billion, a decrease of about 6% from the same period last year, due to weak insurance underwriting. Operating profit includes the profits of Berkshire's wholly-owned subsidiaries. According to FactSet consensus, this figure was slightly below analysts' expectations.
As expectations rise for a smooth economic landing with declining inflation and the Federal Reserve continuously cutting interest rates, the U.S. stock market has soared this year, but Buffett has maintained a cautious stance. However, the interest rate market has recently rebounded, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rising above 4% last month.
Notable investors like Paul Tudor Jones have begun to worry about the ever-expanding fiscal deficit, especially since neither of the two presidential candidates facing off in this week's election plans to cut spending to address the issue. Buffett hinted this year that he would sell some stocks because he believes capital gains taxes will have to be raised at some point to fill the growing deficit.

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Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, reached a new high in cash reserves of $325.2 billion in the third quarter, primarily due to the sale of a large amount of stocks, including its holdings in Apple and Bank of America. The company reduced its stock holdings by $36.1 billion in the third quarter and did not conduct any stock buybacks, marking the first time since 2018. Despite a slight decline in operating profit, Berkshire's market value surpassed $1 trillion, with Class A shares rising 25% this year

- Warren Buffett has significantly reduced his stock holdings, leading Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves to exceed $325 billion by the end of Q3, up from $276.9 billion in Q2.  
- The company sold about a quarter of its Apple shares and profited over $10 billion from selling long-held Bank of America stock, marking its fourth consecutive quarter of reducing Apple holdings.  
- Despite a strong stock performance, Buffett has adopted a cautious stance amid rising interest rates and concerns over fiscal deficits, suggesting potential future stock sales due to anticipated capital gains tax increases.

JIN10

$325.2 billion! Buffett's cash reserves hit a new high