Buffett’s Cautious Moves: Berkshire Rises 1.42% with $2.25B Volume 25th as Cash Surges to $344B

On August 19, 2025, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) rose 1.42% with a trading volume of $2.25 billion, ranking 25th in market activity. Recent strategic moves by Warren Buffett suggest a cautious stance amid economic uncertainty. Wedbush’s Paul Dietrich noted Buffett’s history of divesting stocks ahead of downturns, citing Berkshire’s net stock disposals of $177 billion over 11 consecutive quarters despite broader market gains. The conglomerate’s cash reserves have surged to $344 billion, a tripling in three years, as Buffett paused buybacks for four quarters, signaling reduced confidence in his shares’ valuation.

Buffett’s approach mirrors past actions before the 2008 financial crisis and the dot-com crash, where he accumulated cash reserves before reinvesting during market dips. The “Buffett Indicator,” comparing U.S. stock market value to GDP, has reached 210%, a level Buffett previously warned against. Dietrich suggests Buffett may repurchase shares like Apple at discounted prices once valuations correct, leveraging Berkshire’s cash pile for strategic reloads.

Backtesting a strategy of holding the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume for one day from 2022 to 2025 shows a 1.98% one-day return and a 7.61% annualized return. However, the Sharpe ratio of 0.71 indicates limited risk-adjusted performance, highlighting the strategy’s modest effectiveness in volatile markets.