Warren Buffett grows cash pile to $347.7 billion while Berkshire Hathaway profits fall on wildfire losses

Warren Buffett's company reported just over one-third of last year's profit Saturday morning just as thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders streamed into an Omaha arena to listen to the revered investor answer questions.

The profit numbers were weighed down by a major drop in the value of its investments and $860 million in insurance losses related to policies that Geico and its other insurance companies wrote before the devastating Southern California wildfires.

Berkshire said it earned $4.6 billion...