Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday posted its first overall quarterly loss in a year as the prices of stocks it owns fell, while improved results from insurance operations bolstered operating profit.
Berkshire said its third-quarter net loss was $12.77 billion, or $8,824 per Class A share, and compared with a $2.8 billion loss a year earlier.
Operating profit rose 41% to $10.76 billion, or $7,444 per Class A share, from $7.65 billion a year earlier.
Berkshire said it repurchased $1.1 billion of its stock in the quarter, and has bought back about $7 billion this year.
Berkshire held a record level of cash at the end of September — $157.2 billion — topping the $149.2 billion high set in the third quarter of 2021.
Operating earnings by business segment:
Insurance - underwriting: $2.42B vs. -$1.07B a year ago;
Insurance - investment income: $2.47B vs. $1.41B a year ago,
Railroad: $1.22B vs. $1.44B
Utilities and energy: $498M vs. $1.60B in Q3 2022;
Pilot Travel Centers: $183M vs.nil.
Other controlled businesses: $3.34B vs. $3.25B a year ago;
Non-controlled businesses: $226M vs. $346M in Q3 2022;
Other: $400M vs. $679M.
Investment and derivative losses, most of which are unrealized, were $23.5B in Q3 compared with $10.4B in the year-ago quarter. That resulted in a net loss of $12.8B in the most recent quarter, compared with a loss/ of $2.80B a year ago.
As of Sept. 30, 2023, about 78% of Berkshire Hathaway’s $318.6B of equity holdings, at fair value, were concentrated in five companies — American Express (AXP), Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), Coca-Cola (KO), and Chevron (CVX); compared with a 78% concentration (same five companies) of a $353.4B portfolio at June 30, 2023.
Meanwhile, its holdings in Occidental Petroleum (OXY), at fair value, increased to ~$14.5B at Sept. 30 from $13.2B at June 30, and the value of its stake in Kraft Heinz (KHC) dropped to $11.0B from $11.6B.