To The Moon

Warren Buffett Stands Tall as U.S. Stocks Tumble: How the 'Oracle' Is Tackling Tariff Impacts?

The annual event for investors—the Berkshire Hathaway 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting—will be held on May 3rd in Omaha. Investors will focus on the Oracle's cash reserves, portfolio adjustments and succession plans, as well as his views on tariffs and the macroeconomy.

Under the impact of Trump's tariffs, U.S. stocks had a rough start in 2025. The $S&P 500(.SPX)$   at one point fell nearly 19% from its all-time high, while the tech-heavy $NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$ dropped 23% from its peak.

The stock market bloodbath has led to a substantial shrinkage in the wealth of the world's richest people. However, Warren Buffett is the only Top-10 billionaire with a net worth gain in 2025, having earned $20 billion against the market trend.

In 2024, the “Oracle of Omaha” reduced his stock positions against the market trend, holding a record $334 billion in cash, successfully weathering the U.S. stock market crash. What's his secret?

Buffett Cuts Holdings in 2024, Avoiding U.S. Stock Market Turmoil Due to Tariffs

Before the market turmoil caused by Trump's tariffs, Buffett had already adjusted his investment portfolio, adopting an unusually cautious defensive strategy in the second half of 2024. In an interview with CBS News in March, Buffett said in response to a question on how he thinks tariffs will affect the economy, "Tariffs are actually, we've had a lot of experience with them. They're an act of war to some degree."

'Oracle of Omaha' Holds Record Cash, Berkshire Share Price Hits New Heights

Warren Buffett appears to have predicted a market turn coming. He sold some $134 billion in equities in 2024 and was sitting on $334 billion in cash at the end of the year.

"We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly-liquid short-term securities,” Buffett wrote to shareholders in February.

Berkshire Hathaway's Q4 Portfolio

By the end of 2024, as Warren Buffett significantly reduces his holdings in $Apple(AAPL)$  , the financial sector overtakes the information technology sector in his portfolio. Currently, Berkshire Hathaway's stock holdings exhibit an industry allocation pattern where finance, information technology, consumer discretionary, and energy coexist.

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