Berkshire just posted its biggest cash pile ever, and new CEO Greg Abel said now is not the time to spend it. The shares are down 6% on the year, while the S&P 500 is up. The first annual meeting without Warren Buffett at the helm came with a record war chest and a quieter room in Omaha.
Saturday's meeting was billed as a passing of the torch, with Buffett, 95, sitting in the front row of the directors' section instead of running the show. His "jersey" with the number 60 was hung in the rafters next to the late Charlie Munger's number 45.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is soon to step down himself, was also in the audience. Lines outside were thinner than past years, and the annual Berkshire Bazaar of Bargains shopping event drew lighter crowds.
Buffett still got the spotlight, with Abel calling the choice of him as successor "100% successful." Buffett returned the praise, saying Abel is "doing everything I did and then some."
Abel even kicked off the Q&A with a deepfake video of Buffett. The fake clip ran on the arena screens before Abel revealed it was made with AI, using the moment to flag the cyber risks the company is now watching.
The cash pile hit $397.4 billion, topping the prior record of $381.6 billion from late 2025. Berkshire was a net seller of stocks in the first quarter, selling about $24.1 billion worth and buying around $16 billion.
Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick the current setup is not ideal for putting that cash to work. When asked when it would be a good time, he said it would come "when nobody else will answer their phones."
The translation: he is waiting for prices to fall, and so is Abel.
The conglomerate did do something rare in March, buying back its own shares for the first time since 2024. Total Q1 buybacks came in at $235 million, almost all of it disclosed earlier in the quarter.
Abel laid out how he sees the equity portfolio, naming Apple, American Express, Moody's and Coca-Cola as the "core four." Bank of America, Chevron, Alphabet and Japanese trading house stakes round out the top of the book.
Berkshire's top five holdings (American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Chevron) made up 61% of the portfolio's market value at the end of March. Berkshire bought about $4 billion of Alphabet stock in the third quarter of 2025.
Abel said he plowed his entire $15 million after-tax salary into Berkshire shares this year. He plans to do the same every year for as long as he is CEO.
Buffett took the mic during the lunch break to compare today's markets to "a church with a casino attached." He said most people are still in the church, but the casino has gotten very busy.
"We've never had people in a more gambling mood than now," Buffett said. He pointed to the boom in one-day options and prediction market bets.
The shares have not rewarded the patience yet, with Berkshire on pace for its first losing year since 2015 even as the S&P 500 has climbed more than 5% in 2026. Abel is sitting on $397 billion and saying he would rather wait.
