Berkshire Hathaway's Q2 2025 earnings dropped 4% year-over-year to $12.4 billion due to declines in stock investments and insurance underwriting profits, despite strong performance in railroad and manufacturing segments. The company took a $5 billion impairment loss on Kraft Heinz and maintained a large cash reserve, with no share repurchases in the quarter. Warren Buffett announced his upcoming retirement as CEO, with Greg Abel set to succeed him, while Berkshire remains financially resilient and positioned for future opportunities.
Altria Group Inc. plans to sell a portion of its stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA for over $2 billion to fund its own share repurchases, with AB InBev also agreeing to repurchase $200 million of shares directly from Altria. The move comes as Altria faces increasing competition in cigarette alternatives and may use the proceeds to develop its own non-combustible products, such as vape and oral nicotine pouches.
Warren Buffett has been a net seller of stocks in the past five quarters due to the stock market's strong performance, leaving Berkshire Hathaway with a record $167.6 billion in cash and equivalents. However, Buffett has consistently bought back shares of Berkshire Hathaway, believing it's one of the best ways to increase investor exposure to the company's assets. With operating income and cash flow growing, and limited viable options for its massive cash pile, it's likely that Buffett will continue repurchasing shares in 2024.
Pinterest shares rallied after executives announced during their first investor day that they expect year-over-year revenue growth to accelerate, with a compound annual growth rate in the mid to high teens over the next three to five years. The company also aims to increase its adjusted margin for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to the low 30s. Pinterest has been focusing on collaborating with retailers and recently announced an advertising partnership with Amazon. The stock is up 8% this year.
Nike's Q4 GAAP EPS of $0.66 missed expectations by $0.02, while its revenue of $12.83 billion exceeded estimates by $250 million. NIKE Direct reported a 15% increase in revenues compared to the previous year, while Wholesale reported a 2% increase. Gross margin decreased to 43.6%, and inventories remained flat at $8.5 billion. The company's cash and equivalents and short-term investments decreased by $2.3 billion, primarily due to share repurchases and other expenses. Nike's share repurchase program saw $1.4 billion spent on retiring 11.5 million shares.
Apple reports Q2 earnings with quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 3% YoY, and earnings per diluted share of $1.52, unchanged YoY. Services revenue reached an all-time high, while iPhone revenue set a March quarter record. The company generated strong operating cash flow of $28.6 billion and returned over $23 billion to shareholders during the quarter. Apple's board of directors authorized an additional $90 billion for share repurchases and raised its quarterly dividend for the eleventh year in a row.
Alphabet's board of directors authorized $70 billion in share repurchases, which could represent a continuation of last year's pace. The company will take into account the stock price and market conditions when deciding when to buy back its own shares of both Class A and Class C stock. Share repurchases have become a hot topic in Washington DC, with some politicians criticizing the practice as a bad use of company profits over alternatives like pay raises.
