(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Warren Buffett continues to see Berkshire Hathaway stock as a good value and use of Berkshire’s profits. Approximately $1.05 billion was used to repurchase Berkshire shares during the third quarter bringing the nine month total to approximately $5.25 billion.
The buybacks come as Berkshire posted $7,761 billion in operating earnings for the third quarter, up from $6,466 billion for the same quarter in 2021.
At September 30, 2022, insurance float (the net liabilities we assume under insurance contracts) was approximately $150 billion, an increase of $3 billion since yearend 2021.
An analysis of Berkshire’s operating earnings follows (dollar amounts are in millions).
|
|
Third Quarter |
|
First Nine Months |
||||||||||||
|
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
|
2022 |
|
2021 |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Insurance-underwriting |
$ |
(962 |
) |
$ |
(784 |
) |
$ |
(334 |
) |
$ |
356 |
|
|||
|
Insurance-investment income |
|
1,408 |
|
|
1,161 |
|
|
4,484 |
|
|
3,588 |
|
|||
|
Railroad |
|
1,442 |
|
|
1,538 |
|
|
4,477 |
|
|
4,305 |
|
|||
|
Utilities and energy |
|
1,585 |
|
|
1,496 |
|
|
3,101 |
|
|
2,939 |
|
|||
|
Other controlled businesses |
|
3,247 |
|
|
2,706 |
|
|
9,521 |
|
|
8,329 |
|
|||
|
Non controlled businesses* |
|
362 |
|
|
310 |
|
|
874 |
|
|
665 |
|
|||
|
Other** |
|
679 |
|
|
39 |
|
|
1,961 |
|
|
(12 |
) |
|||
|
Operating earnings |
$ |
7,761 |
|
$ |
6,466 |
|
$ |
24,084 |
|
$ |
20,170 |
|
|||
* Includes certain businesses in which Berkshire has between a 20% and 50% ownership interest.
© 2022 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.