Swelling Cash Pile
And with a record $146.6 billion of cash on hand at the end of June, Berkshire said the company could weather the pandemic’s effects.

“Our operating business groups are preparing for reduced cash flows from reduced revenues and economic activity as a result of Covid-19,” Berkshire said Saturday in a regulatory filing. “We currently believe our liquidity and capital strength, which is extremely strong, to be more than adequate.”

Here’s some other takeaways from Berkshire’s second-quarter earnings:

Selling Stocks
Berkshire sold almost $13 billion in stocks, on a net basis, in the quarter. That included Buffett’s decision to dump airline stakes, which was announced at his annual meeting in May. Another chunk of the divestments appears to come from Berkshire’s bets on financials. Berkshire and other investment companies are expected to report their 13F holdings by Aug. 14.

Aerospace Woes
Berkshire continued to feel the pain of the airline industry upheaval, even after dumping its stock holdings in four of the major U.S. airlines. Buffett’s company booked a $10 billion impairment charge tied to its Precision Castparts business in the second quarter, and warned that it might take a vaccine to get that market back to more normal levels.

Profit Drop
Operating profit slumped 10%, hit by lower earnings from the railroad BNSF and from Berkshire’s collection of manufacturing, service and retailing businesses.

The pandemic weighed on units ranging from Precision Castparts to the footwear and apparel businesses. Berkshire warned that the effects on most operations were “relatively minor to severe” and cautioned that it’s hard to predict when the environment will normalize or how this will alter consumer behavior going forward.

BNSF reported reduced revenues across the variety of goods it carries on its rails, including agricultural products, consumer items, industrial cargo and coal, but the business was able to eke out more cost savings in the quarter.

Stock Swings
Net earnings surged nearly 87% in the second quarter, driven by swings in Berkshire’s $207 billion stock portfolio. Unrealized gains in the stock holdings accounted for a $34.5 billion gain.

Berkshire’s Apple Inc. stake, its largest common stock bet, ended the quarter at $91.5 billion, meaning it accounted for about 44% of the company’s stock portfolio.