Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter and Berkshire Earnings Come Out Saturday—What To Expect

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings on Saturday. Not only are investors looking to dig into the company’s financials, they are also keenly awaiting Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders that may offer commentary on investments and the economy.

Here is what investors will be watching.

Did Berkshire’s Record Cash Pile Swell Further?

At the end of the third quarter of 2024, Berkshire was sitting on a record $325 .2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, including more than $288 billion in U.S. Treasury securities.

Saturday’s earnings report will reveal if that stash swelled further in the last three months of 2024. More importantly, investors will want to know how Berkshire plans to deploy that cash.

In last year’s shareholder letter, Buffett said Berkshire would remain invested in U.S. equity markets but lamented the lack of investment opportunities, both within the U.S. and globally, that aligned with Berkshire’s value-focused philosophy.

Rationale For Buffett’s Portfolio Decisions

Berkshire Hathaway sold off some major stock positions last year, including its largest holding Apple Inc. (AAPL). Buffett slashed Berkshire’s stake in Apple from over 900 million shares at the end of 2023 to just 300 million shares by the end of last year.

Berkshire also offloaded a large chunk of its stake in Bank of America (BAC). In its latest quarterly filing, the company also revealed cutting back on Citigroup (C) and Capital One (COF). The upcoming shareholder letter could shed light on the reason behind some of those portfolio decisions.

For example, in last year’s letter, Buffett explained his unwavering commitment to long-term investments in Coca-Cola (KO) and American Express (AXP). He also wrote about Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and investments in five Japanese trading houses that he expects to “maintain indefinitely.”

Meanwhile, last year it also made a few new investments—some that worked and some that didn’t. Berkshire ended up selling its entire stake in Ulta Beauty (ULTA) within two quarters of purchasing the stock, an uncharacteristic move that could be explained in this year’s letter.

Investing Wisdom and Commentary On Economy

In his last letter, Buffett issued a strong warning about investors taking too much risk during times of market exuberance.

“For whatever reasons, markets now exhibit far more casino-like behavior than they did when I was young. The casino now resides in many homes and daily tempts the occupants,” he wrote in February 2024, before reiterating one of Berkshire’s core investment principles: “Never risk permanent loss of capital.”

Investors will be looking to Buffett for clues on what he thinks of markets and the economy today. President Trump’s recent actions on tariffs that could reignite inflation have tripped up Wall Street on more than one occasion this year.