Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway plowed a net $41 billion into stocks last quarter — and slowed its share repurchases

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway boosted stock purchases but slowed buybacks last quarter.
• The investor's company reported a 28% decline in its cash pile due to the increased spending.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway slowed its share buybacks but ramped up its stock purchases in the first quarter, slashing its cash reserves.

The famed investor's company spent about $3.2 billion on buybacks in the period, compared to upwards of $6 billion in each of the previous five quarters, marking its lowest outlay since the first quarter of 2020.

On the other hand, Berkshire spent a net $41 billion on equities, as it bought $51 billion worth and sold less than $10 billion worth. In contrast, the company was a net seller of stocks in both 2020 and 2021.

The increase in spending last quarter fueled a decline in Berkshire's cash pile from $147 billion to $106 billion — a 28% fall.

Buffett's company reported sharp increases in the cost bases of its financial stocks and commercial and industrial holdings, suggesting its buying was concentrated in those sectors. It disclosed that it held about $26 billion of Chevron stock at the end of March, compared to $4.5 billion worth three months earlier, and the energy giant's stock price only rose 37% in the first quarter.

Berkshire's revenues climbed 10% to about $71 billion, but pre-tax earnings from its operating businesses slipped 3% to around $8 billion. Larger profits from its railroad, manufacturing, and service and retail operations were offset by a 40% drop in insurance income.

Buffett and his team struggled to find bargains over the past two years as stocks marched to record highs, private equity firms and special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) bid up the price of acquisitions, and Berkshire's rising stock price made the shares less attractive to repurchase.

However, Berkshire has boosted its buying this year. It plowed about $7 billion into Occidental Petroleum stock in 11 days, snapped up $4 billion of HP shares, and struck a deal to acquire Alleghany for $11.6 billion in under two weeks.

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