(Reuters) – Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway extended their retreat from stocks in the third quarter, selling more Apple shares and boosting cash to a record $325.2 billion, while the company’s operating profit declined.
In its quarterly report on Saturday, Berkshire said it sold about 100 million Apple shares, on top of several billion dollars of Bank of America shares.
Berkshire repurchased none of its own stock in the quarter, suggesting that Buffett doesn’t view even his own company’s shares as a bargain.
Operating profit from Berkshire’s dozens of businesses such as the BNSF railroad and Geico car insurance fell 6% to $10.09 billion, or about $7,019 per Class A share, from $10.76 billion a year earlier.
Net income totaled $26.25 billion, or $18,272 per Class A share, compared with a loss of $12.77 billion, or $8,824 per share, a year earlier when falling stock prices reduced the value of Berkshire’s investments.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jason Neely)
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