What happened Shares of the Warren Buffett-led conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) fell 12% in the month of March, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The COVID-19 outbreak accelerated in Europe and the U.S. at the beginning of the month, causing virtually all economically sensitive stocks to fall sharply, as a wide swath of the economy was subsequently ordered to shut down. The countercyclical Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool. So what Many investors might think the downturn will benefit Berkshire in the long run, as the company had accumulated a stunning $125 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet as of year-end. Buffett runs Berkshire to be countercyclical, which means when the tide goes out (and it is most certainly going out now), Berkshire is usually there to make investments at bargain-basement prices. It has exhibited stunning patience during the last five years or so, not having made many major investments since Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in 2016. Yet even though Berkshire holds a ton of cash, it also has significant stakes in companies that have been absolutely hammered by the current economic contraction. These include large holdings in airlines, banks, and even a few energy stocks. Those industries have all been ravaged during the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war. In addition to the publicly held stocks, Berkshire also owns the BNSF railroad and large manufacturers such as Israeli toolmaker ISCAR, industrial manufacturer Marmon, and aerospace parts manufacturer Precision Castparts. Thus, while it initially appeared Berkshire could benefit from a market downturn, government-imposed quarantines are likely to severely affect many Berkshire businesses, offsetting potential new opportunities. Now what It will be very interesting to see what Buffett and partner Charlie Munger do now and over the coming months in regard to capital allocation. On the one hand, they may be able to scoop up bargain-priced securities. On the other, Berkshire may need to provide liquidity and bailouts to many of its existing holdings for an uncertain period of time. That may eat into its large cash pile somewhat. In any case, there seems to be just as good a case for selling many of Berkshire's holdings as there is to bail them out. We'll get more information at Berkshire's upcoming annual meeting, which will be held virtually on Saturday, May 2. 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway (A shares)When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Berkshire Hathaway (A shares) wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 18, 2020 Billy Duberstein owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and has the following options: short June 2020 $400 calls on Apple and short June 2020 $100 puts on Apple. His clients may own shares of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2021 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short June 2020 $205 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source