Berkshire Hathaway Cash Reserves Decline for First Time in Years Amid Surging Profits

The Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway saw its massive cash stockpile shrink for the first time in more than three years as profits soar.

The conglomerate posted net income of $25.67 billion for the second quarter, more than double the year-earlier total of $12.37 billion, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Operating earnings excluding investment gains climbed 16.3% to $12.98 billion from $11.16 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway held $364.7 billion in cash and Treasury bills at the end of June, down 4% from the previous quarter after accounting for amounts owed on some of its short-term government securities.

The decline marked the first quarter-on-quarter drop in Berkshire’s cash holdings in four years.

In Q2, spending drove the cash drop after Berkshire completed its $6.8 billion purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison (TMHC) on July 24th at $72.50 per share.

The company also added $10 billion in Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL) shares as part of $23.5 billion in equity purchases overall while selling $3.7 billion.

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