Berkshire Hathaway operating earnings soar 39% as Buffett's cash hoard swells to record $188 billion


Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday a significant year-over-year increase in operating earnings for the first quarter, with its cash reserves reaching record levels.

The conglomerate, led by Warren Buffett, reported an operating profit of $11.22 billion, a 39% increase from the same period last year. This increase was primarily driven by a 185% rise in insurance underwriting earnings to $2.598 billion, up from $911 million. Geico's earnings also saw a substantial increase, rising 174% to $1.928 billion from $703 million. Additionally, insurance investment income grew by 32% to over $2.5 billion.

Berkshire's railroad business generated a profit of $1.14 billion, slightly down from the first quarter of 2023. The energy division's earnings nearly doubled to $717 million from $416 million in the previous year.

First-quarter net earnings, which include fluctuations from Berkshire's stock investments, declined by 64% to $12.7 billion. Buffett has criticized these unrealized investing gains (or losses) as meaningless and misleading, but the company is required to report them based on generally accepted accounting principles.

The company's cash reserves reached a record high of $188.99 billion, up from $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter. Despite this significant cash holding, Berkshire did reduce its stake in Apple by 13%, although Apple remains its largest stock holding.

Berkshire also repurchased $2.6 billion in stock, an increase from $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The report precedes the company's annual shareholder meeting, often referred to as "Woodstock for Capitalists," where Buffett will address questions from shareholders on a range of topics including the conglomerate's holdings, investing, and the economy.

This will be the first annual meeting since the passing of Vice Chairman Charlie Munger in November.

Year-to-date, Berkshire's Class A shares have risen by over 11%, reaching an all-time high in late February. The Class B stock has also gained more than 12% during this period.

Unusual Whales does not confirm the information's truthfulness or accuracy of the associated references, data, and cannot verify any of the information. Any content on this site or related pages are not intended to provide legal, tax, investment or insurance advice. Unusual Whales Inc. is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or any state securities regulatory authority. Nothing on Unusual Whales should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by Unusual Whales or any third party. Options, investing, trading is risky, and losses are more expected than profits. Please do own research before investing. Please only subscribe after reading our full terms and understanding options and the market, and the inherent risks of trading. It is highly recommended not to trade on this, or any, information from Unusual Whales. Markets are risky, and you will likely lose some or all of your capital. Please check our terms for full details.
Any content on this site or related pages are not intended to provide legal, tax, investment or insurance advice. Unusual Whales Inc. is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or any state securities regulatory authority. Nothing on Unusual Whales should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by Unusual Whales or any third party. Certain investment planning tools available on Unusual Whales may provide general investment education based on your input. You are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, investment strategy, security or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances and risk tolerance. You should consult your legal or tax professional regarding your specific situation. See terms for more information.