Warren Buffett defends his growing cash pile

Berkshire also released its results for 2024, reporting a profit of $89 billion, down from $96.2 billion in 2023

- Karen Langley

Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway still prefers owning businesses. Berkshire's chairman and chief executive told shareholders in his annual letter Saturday that while the company's ownership of stocks declined last year, the value of the operating businesses it owns increased. Berkshire runs a range of subsidiaries in such industries as rail, utilities and insurance.

A recent buildup in the Omaha, Neb., conglomerate's mountain of cash and Treasury bills has drawn attention among investors. Berkshire ended 2024 with $321.4 billion in cash and Treasury bills, after accounting for a payable it recorded for buying the short-term government debt. That marked a record and a 3.6% increase from three months earlier.

"Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities," Buffett wrote. "That preference won't change."

Buffett said Berkshire's ownership of "marketable equities" declined last year. But the famed stock picker offered assurance that the company hasn't changed its investment approach.