Warren Buffett’s 3-Year Sell Streak; Red Flag for Markets?

Warren Buffett is famously the image of calm in chaos. But calm can look odd when it is paired with a growing pile of cash and a steady pattern of selling. Over the past three years, Berkshire Hathaway has become a seller of stocks more often than a buyer. The company reports show the team in Omaha has preferred to hold cash rather than add to stakes or repurchase its own shares, even as global markets climbed and many investors cheered every dip as a buying chance.

Let’s break down with this blog what Berkshire has done in the latest quarter, why the hoard of cash matters, what analysts are saying, and whether this three-year sell streak is a genuine red flag for markets or simply Buffett being Buffett.

Berkshire’s Latest Moves

The headline numbers are simple and striking. In the third quarter, Berkshire sold about $12.5 billion of stocks and bought roughly $6.4 billion, making it a net seller for the 12th consecutive quarter. Net on the quarter, that works out to roughly $6.1 billion of net stock sales. 

At the same time, the company’s cash and equivalents hit a record roughly $381.7 billion, the largest corporate cash pile in U.S. markets. Berkshire also did not repurchase any of its own shares for the fifth straight quarter.

Source: Berkshire Hathaway Q3 2025 earnings report; Financial Times, CNBC, and Fortune (November 2025)

Why is Buffett Selling?

Why sell when markets are rising? The clearest explanation is valuation discipline. Buffett has long said he will only buy large stakes when the price is right. With many marquee names trading at rich multiples, the Berkshire team appears to have chosen patience over forcing new investments. That caution explains both the selling and the reluctance to use buybacks as a way to return capital.

Management can wait; a very large cash balance gives Berkshire the option to move decisively if an obvious, large opportunity appears. Analysts who study Berkshire point to this optionality as a reason not to panic.

Hathaway Still Open for Business

But the company is not sitting on cash for show. Berkshire recently agreed to buy Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemicals business for about $9.7 billion in cash, a reminder that the conglomerate will still spend on deals it deems sensible. That transaction signals the threshold at which Buffett and his lieutenants will deploy capital: big, strategic, and value-accretive deals rather than frequent small purchases.

What Berkshire Sold and What They Might Buy Next?

So what did Berkshire trim? The detailed list of buys and sells will come in regulatory filings later in November, but media and filing summaries indicate meaningful trimming across some large tech and financial positions over the past year. Reports have flagged reductions in Apple and several bank holdings during recent quarters, even if Apple remains among the top positions by market value.

Expect the upcoming filings to give a granular picture of which names were trimmed and which were added.

What Analysts are Saying About the BRK Stock?

Two views dominate. One camp worries that the sell streak and the growing cash pile are a signal of pessimism about market structure and future returns. Berkshire underperforming the S&P since the succession announcement has added fuel to this argument.

The other camp sees a deliberate capital allocator making rational choices, thereby preserving optionality, avoiding overpaying, and waiting for a convincing bargain. Recent commentary from major analysts and long-term Berkshire watchers mirror that split.

What Investors Should Take Away?

• Capital preservation over haste: Berkshire’s behaviour is a governance and strategy signal more than a direct market call. The company is choosing patience and selectivity over momentum.
• Watch the cash: The record cash pile means Berkshire can still make transformational moves, so keep an eye on M&A headlines.
• Buybacks on pause: The absence of buybacks reflects valuation caution, not loss of confidence.
• 13F filings will be key: The November disclosures will reveal which holdings Buffett and Greg Abel are trimming or building.
• Optionality matters: Berkshire’s cash gives it power to act when others can’t; a classic Buffett position.

The Bottom Line

In short, the three-year sell streak and the pause on buybacks are worth watching but not automatically a market red flag. They are instead a reminder that one of the world’s most famous investors still treats price as the gatekeeper to any purchase.

For long-term investors, the signal is straightforward: valuation matters. For short-term market watchers, the more relevant thing to monitor is capital deployment. If Berkshire starts to redeploy its cash aggressively and consistently, markets might take that as a sign that prices have become interesting again.

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