Tokyo, May 7, 2026, 23:11 (JST)
- Company filings revealed Berkshire Hathaway’s National Indemnity has pushed past a 10% voting stake in both Sumitomo and Marubeni.
- Just days after Greg Abel addressed Berkshire shareholders, sitting atop a record cash pile and striking a cautious tone on frothy markets, the move comes through.
- Sumitomo jumped 8.2% at the Tokyo close. Berkshire’s Class B shares were also in positive territory in early New York trading.
Berkshire Hathaway increased its voting stakes in both Sumitomo Corp and Marubeni to over 10%, doubling down on its investment in Japanese trading companies. The move comes just days after new Chief Executive Greg Abel assured shareholders the U.S. conglomerate would take a patient approach with its capital.
According to Sumitomo, Berkshire’s National Indemnity bumped its voting stake to 10.05% as of May 7, rising from 9.30% on March 10. Over at Marubeni, the same Berkshire insurer reached 10.10% as of May 6, an increase from 9.32%. That pushed National Indemnity into major shareholder territory—now the company’s biggest.
Timing is key here. Berkshire demonstrates it can deploy capital when it sees fit, despite disclosures revealing an outsized pile of cash and U.S. Treasury bills, along with net stock sales in the first quarter. Treasury bills—those short-term U.S. government IOUs—are a staple for near-cash holdings.
The Japan stake hike lands in Abel’s debut year at the helm of Berkshire, following Warren Buffett’s exit as CEO. Bloomberg says Berkshire has taken its positions past 10% in each of Japan’s top five trading houses, upping Sumitomo and Marubeni this time after boosting Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Itochu earlier.
Sumitomo jumped 8.19% to finish at 7,400 yen in Tokyo. Berkshire’s Class B shares edged up roughly 0.5% early on in New York.
Japan’s sogo shosha—huge trading conglomerates spanning commodities, food, machinery, power, finance, and logistics—have drawn Berkshire’s attention since 2020. That year, the Omaha-based giant first revealed stakes in all five firms, then steadily increased its holdings, marking an uncommon overseas equity move.
According to Sumitomo, Berkshire’s notification shows National Indemnity holds 119.8 million shares. The company added there’s nothing specific to report regarding its outlook following the change in shareholders.
Marubeni reported National Indemnity’s stake at 165.3 million shares. The company said it plans to maintain discussions with shareholders as it looks to “enhance corporate value.”
Berkshire posted $11.35 billion in operating earnings for the first quarter, up from $9.64 billion during the same stretch last year—boosted by stronger insurance investment results and gains from its BNSF railroad unit. Net earnings hit $10.11 billion. Berkshire repeated its caution, saying the quarter’s investment gains and losses shouldn’t be taken at face value since accounting rules push portfolio fluctuations straight through to reported earnings.
Berkshire’s 10-Q put cash and cash equivalents at its insurance and other units at $51.48 billion as of March 31, with another $339.26 billion stacked in short-term U.S. Treasury bills. On the equity side, the firm picked up $15.94 billion in stocks over the quarter but unloaded $24.09 billion, ending up a net seller by roughly $8.1 billion.
Investors are puzzling over that gap. Heihachiro Okamoto, chief foreign-stock consultant at Monex Securities, argued that Berkshire’s hefty cash reserve isn’t just a negative signal for stocks. Instead, he described it as a stash set aside for those uncommon, clear-cut opportunities that meet the right price.
Speaking in Omaha, Abel echoed the point: Berkshire isn’t obligated to spend just because it has cash on hand, but will still scout both public and private deals. Buffett, who was present, cautioned that “more people” were “in a gambling mood”—a comment noted by Japanese analysts as they weighed in on the spike in short-term trading and the surge in one-day option contracts. Reuters
Jun Ishihara, a fund manager contributing to Rakuten Securities, took Buffett’s remarks and ran them through a Japan-focused lens. He pointed out that yen depreciation can exaggerate local stock gains when you’re measuring in yen alone. This distinction is important for Japanese savers following Buffett’s moves—a climbing stock market might reflect both investment profits and hits from currency moves.
Risks are still on the table. Berkshire’s heavy cash position can drag on returns in hot markets, and according to Reuters, its stock has lagged the S&P 500 by 39 percentage points since Buffett said he planned to step down. Japan’s trading firms? Vulnerable as ever to commodity swings, currency moves, and geopolitical flare-ups—a bigger Berkshire position doesn’t shield earnings from those hits.
So far, there’s no major break from the past. Abel keeps Berkshire on the same path—selling more U.S. equities than it’s picking up, sitting on a hefty cash pile, and boosting stakes in Japan. That’s where Buffett already set the template: broad-based firms, reliable cash flow, and executives open to working with a long-term investor.
