Data through: Q2 2026 · updated Aug 11 · Updates: Quarterly (read nightly from Yahoo Finance)
↑ 6.2% YoY
Historical context: Currently in the 97th percentile historically — elevated vs historical norms.
What this means right now: Berkshire's cash is above $300B — bigger than ever. Every reading since Q3 2024 has been here, the record $397B in Q1 2026; before June 2024 none had exceeded $189B. The S&P 500 was higher a year after the filing in 4 of the 4 readings this size old enough to check.
Berkshire Hathaway Cash Reserves — the last 8 quarters
Every quarter's reading, with the band the heatmap gives it. The chart above shows the same series in full.
Quarter
Value
Band
Q2 2026
$365.5B
Severe/critical reading
Q1 2026
$397.4B
Severe/critical reading
Q4 2025
$373.3B
Severe/critical reading
Q3 2025
$381.7B
Severe/critical reading
Q2 2025
$344.1B
Severe/critical reading
Q1 2025
$347.7B
Severe/critical reading
Quarter-end readings of the same series as the chart. Values are the current record, not point-in-time: a month that has since been revised shows its revised value.
What is the BRKA Cash?
Berkshire Hathaway's cash and Treasury bill holdings are the money that Warren Buffett — widely considered history's greatest long-term investor — is holding back rather than putting into stocks or acquisitions. A large pile is read as a sign that Buffett cannot find investments at prices he likes. A small one is read as a sign that he has been buying.
Investors watch the pile as an indirect reading of how expensive the market is. Buffett has said many times that he buys only when he finds "wonderful companies at fair prices," so record cash suggests he is not finding those prices. A falling pile means money has gone into purchases — but on this site's record the market did no better after those years. The year-end figure fell eight times between 1996 and 2023, and the S&P 500 was higher a year after the annual report in only five of them. In the 20 years the pile rose, the market was higher a year later in 15.
How We Color-Code the BRKA Cash
Our heatmap colors this indicator against historically significant thresholds:
Below $50.0B
Low cash — under $50B, where every reading from 1995 to Q1 2014 sat; Buffett putting money to work
$50.0B – $100.0B
Moderate cash — $50B to $100B; buying selectively
$100.0B – $200.0B
Elevated cash — $100B to $200B; the pile building rather than being spent
$200.0B – $300.0B
High cash — $200B to $300B; few purchases at the prices on offer
Above $300.0B
Record cash — above $300B, a level first reached in Q3 2024
Coloured as a caution signal: a large cash pile has tended to reflect fewer bargains, not a forecast.
Historical Extremes — What Happened Next?
When this indicator reaches extreme levels, history shows consistent patterns:
Q3 2024Record Cash Pile
$325.2B
The largest figure in the site's record to that date: $325B, up from $277B in June and $189B in March, and against $168B at the end of 2023.
Dec 2020COVID Year
$138.3B
Berkshire's cash grew through the COVID year rather than being spent, from $128B at the end of 2019 to $138B. The S&P 500 ended 2020 16% higher than it began. The quarterly record shows $137B in March 2020 and $147B in June.
Dec 2008Financial Crisis Deployment
$25.5B
The largest calendar-year fall in the record: Berkshire put money to work in the crisis, and its cash dropped by $19B during 2008, from $44B. The annual report was filed in March 2009; over the next year the S&P 500 returned +55.8% with dividends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Buffett hold so much cash instead of investing it?
Buffett has said repeatedly that he puts money to work only when he finds wonderful businesses at fair prices. When he cannot find them — typically because markets are expensive — cash piles up. He also keeps a large cushion as a permanent reserve against catastrophe, which he has said will never fall below $30B.
Is Berkshire's cash a reliable market timing signal?
No. It says something about how expensive Buffett finds the market, not about when the market turns. On this site's record Berkshire's cash never reached $16B through the late 1990s and fell to $4.5B by the end of 1999, so no cash pile came before the dot-com crash. The pile then built through 2013–2019, from $48B to $128B, while the S&P 500 rose 75%.
What does Berkshire invest its cash in?
The vast majority of Berkshire's cash is held in short-term US Treasury bills — Buffett has repeatedly said that Treasury bills are the safest place for very large sums. At current interest rates (3-5%) the cash earns a meaningful return, so holding it costs much less than it did when rates were near zero.
When has Buffett deployed cash most aggressively?
Most famously during the 2008 financial crisis — the Goldman Sachs, GE and Burlington Northern deals. He also bought heavily in the 1970s market slump and the early 1990s recession, and selectively in the 2020 COVID crash (Japanese trading companies and Apple shares). Each time, he put cash to work when fear was at its height.
Does Berkshire's cash level affect Berkshire stock (BRK.A, BRK.B)?
A big cash pile gives Berkshire choices: it can make large acquisitions when the right opportunity comes along, which some investors see as a plus for the stock. Buffett has also used spare cash to buy back Berkshire shares when he judged them undervalued.