Important takeouts:
Berkshire Hathaway recorded headline profit of $12.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, according to its latest declaration. But it reveals a more coarser story, especially if you missed the opportunity to hedge by ignoring Bitcoin (BTC).
Bitcoin was able to ease Berkshire’s $4.6 billion stock loss
The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate won a significant $5 billion impairment loss on Kraftheinz’s stock during the quarter, contributing to a stock method investment loss of $4.6 billion in the first half.
Net income has fallen sharply from the same period last year, with the company’s stocks falling behind both Bitcoin and the S&P 500 in 2025, particularly after Buffett announced he would step down from his position as CEO.
As of Tuesday, Berkshire’s shares had risen just 3.55% since the start of the year. In contrast, the S&P 500 won 7.51%, while Bitcoin is up 16.85%.
Berkshire held $1004.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of June, most of which parked on short-term Treasury bills and low-yield equipment.
If only 5% of its capital had been allocated to Bitcoin at the beginning of 2025, it would have produced more than $850 million unrealized profits by August, based on BTC’s 16.85% return since the beginning of the year.
That hypothetical Bitcoin gain would not have erased the lack of Kraftheinz, but would have significantly offset the loss.
Related: How much Bitcoin can Berkshire Hathaway buy?
It would also have given Berkshire more flexibility as the company did not repurchase the shares early in the year.
BTC defeated Berkshire Top Holdings in 2025
The overlooked benefits of BTC took into consideration how much Berkshire’s conservative approach costs relative performance.
For example, cryptocurrencies have outperformed Berkshire’s top three stockholders in 2025 so far (Apple (AAPL), American Express (AXP) and Coca-Cola (KO)), as shown below.
Ironically, Buffett has long dismissed Bitcoin as a “rat poison square.” He repeatedly says that Bitcoin has no yields, no intrinsic value and does not belong to the investment portfolio.
Still, Bitcoin surpasses Berkshire’s top holding in a year defined by the rise in ETF inflows, institutional adoption and macro backgrounds that are increasingly supporting hard assets.
Related: Bitcoin ETF influx shows “Doubled Down” institutions at $116K in BTC
Buffett’s successor Greg Abel has so far provided no official statements in favour of Bitcoin or crypto.
This article does not include investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading movements include risk and readers must do their own research when making decisions.
