Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by Warren E. Buffett, reported a sharp drop in first-quarter earnings on Saturday as the company felt the effects of a declining stock market and braced for potential hits from President Trump’s trade policies.
The company reported $9.6 billion in operating income, Mr. Buffett’s preferred measure, down 14 percent from the same time a year ago. Using generally accepted accounting principles, Berkshire reported a nearly 64 percent drop in net income, largely because of paper investment losses.
The company reported that a “majority” of its businesses had lower sales and earnings in the first three months of the year, particularly in insurance underwriting income, which was hit by losses tied to the California wildfires.
One thing that stood out was Berkshire’s cash hoard, which Mr. Buffett has often called his “elephant gun” and used to make major acquisitions, only continued to grow as the investor found few attractive opportunities of size to spend on. Berkshire’s cash pile in the quarter grew to $347.7 billion, a record.
Mr. Buffett also continued to be a net seller of stocks: Berkshire sold $4.68 billion worth of equity in the quarter, compared with $3.18 billion in purchases.
Berkshire is often regarded as a bellwether for corporate America, given its wide array of businesses. The company owns one of the nation’s biggest railroads, BNSF, as well as a powerful insurance operation, an energy utility, many consumer brands — from See’s Candies to Fruit of the Loom — and more.
The financial report was published ahead of Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, its hometown, where tens of thousands investors flock from around the world to hear directly from Mr. Buffett on a wide range of topics.
A number of prominent corporate and business leaders were on hand on Saturday, including the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Tim Cook of Apple (which is one of Berkshire’s biggest stock holdings) and the billionaire financier William A. Ackman. Two first timers, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Priscilla Chan, the wife of Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, were also present.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated issue is what he thinks about Mr. Trump’s tariff threats, which have roiled markets and affected vast swaths of American corporate companies.
Whatever Mr. Buffett does — or doesn’t — say will be particularly noteworthy, since the billionaire, 94, has maintained a lower public profile over the past year.
In a regulatory filing on Saturday, Berkshire warned that Mr. Trump’s trade policies were generating “considerable uncertainty,” which could affect the company’s operating results. “We are currently unable to reliably predict the potential impact on our businesses, whether through changes in product costs, supply chain costs and efficiency, and customer demand for our products and services.”
That said, BNSF’s net earnings rose in the quarter, as the railroad said it benefited from higher volumes in the first three months of the year. During the period, many companies raced to stockpile goods before Mr. Trump’s tariffs took effect.
Andrew Ross Sorkin contributed reporting.
