What Wall Street expects from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway earnings

Wall Street is already laying its bets on Berkshire Hathaway before the company releases its first-quarter earnings on May 2.

According to a CNBC report on Monday, UBS analyst Brian Meredith is pushing even harder on the company’s Class B stock, calling the so-called “Baby Berkshire” a “safe haven in a turbulent environment.” Meredith stuck to his previous buy rating but pushed the 12-month price target higher to $606 per share from $557.

That is about a 14% rise from yesterday’s $530.96 closing price. Meredith also moved up his first-quarter earnings estimate to $4.89 per share from $4.81, driven by improved loss ratios at Geico, which sits as one of Warren Buffett’s major holdings.

Shares of Berkshire’s Class B stock have already climbed nearly 18% in 2025. Even with Donald Trump back in the White House and tariffs rolling out, Meredith said Geico could handle the impact.

“We expect tariffs to potentially increase claims costs by 3% – 4% at Geico, however, given current profitability, Geico may be able to absorb the additional costs without raising prices and stay within target margins,” Meredith said.

Meredith is also keeping his eyes open for any hints about how Berkshire plans to use its massive $334 billion cash pile, an amount that has reached record levels for the company. On top of all that, analysts polled by FactSet are forecasting first-quarter earnings per share of $4.72 on revenue of $90.8 billion.

Buffett’s wealth balloons as Berkshire stock powers higher

At 94 years old, Warren’s fortune is swelling alongside Berkshire Hathaway’s stock price. His net worth jumped by $23.7 billion so far in 2025, hitting $166 billion, Bloomberg Billionaire Index reported.

The surge amounts to a 16.7% gain year-to-date, largely powered by the strong run of Berkshire’s Class B shares. As of the latest figures, the stock closed at $534.29, up 19% this year.

Warren’s financial empire is basically tied to Berkshire, accounting for around 99.5% of his net worth, as he has repeatedly pointed out in public statements.

Even after a minor dip of $260 million—or 0.2%—on the most recent trading day, Warren’s financial standing is still firmly locked in. Berkshire’s November 2024 filings show that the Oracle of Omaha owns about 37.4% of the company’s Class A shares, while his Class B holdings are almost too small to matter.

Warren’s limited non-Berkshire assets haven’t changed much in over a decade. In that infamous letter he wrote to Congressman Tim Huelskamp back in 2011, and through disclosures since 2010, Warren said that any non-Berkshire investments he holds are basically pocket change compared to his main holdings.

He once had stakes in Wells Fargo and US Bancorp, but those added up to less than 1% of his total fortune and still do today. Time hasn’t really helped those outside investments either.

Market changes, dividend reinvestments, and asset sales have changed their values around, but they remain tiny compared to his Berkshire mountain.

The bigger picture here is that his playbook hasn’t needed adjusting even through the roughest economic seasons. His no-drama approach has carried him through inflation, market collapses, and economic slowdowns.

All in all, Warren’s steady hands have turned his Berkshire holdings into the ultimate fortress against market chaos for Wall Street, proving once again that he might be the greatest investor history has ever recorded.

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