Berkshire Hathaway reports nearly $50B loss in first quarter

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway lost nearly $50 billion in its first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic has led stock investment to plummet. 

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing posted Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway lost $49.75 billion in the first 3 months of the year. At the same time last year the company reported $21.7 billion in profit.

According to Bloomberg, Buffet also spent the quarter building the company’s cash pile to a record $137 billion as the coronavirus pandemic began impacting stock sales. 

The company is hosting its first online shareholder meeting on Saturday. The meeting typically takes place in Omaha, Neb., featuring an address from Buffett. 

Buffett exited the newspaper industry in January, selling his newspaper business to Lee Enterprises for $140 million. Berkshire Hathaway provided Lee $576 million in long-term financing to help the company pay off its existing debts as part of the deal.

On Friday Buffett, who will turn 90 years old in August, told Yahoo News he is close to determining a successor for his company. 

“Berkshire doesn’t need me,” Buffett said. “We’ve got somebody that’s extremely better than I am in many, many, many respects to succeed me.”