Warren
Buffett
ahead
of
the
Berkshire
Hathaway
Annual
Shareholder’s
Meeting
in
Omaha,
NE.
David
A.
Grogan
|
CNBC
Berkshire
Hathaway
on
Saturday
reported
a
big
rise
in
operating
earnings
in
the
fourth
quarter,
thanks
to
huge
gains
in
its
insurance
business,
while
its
cash
pile
expanded
to
record
levels.
The
Omaha-based
conglomerate
posted
operating
earnings
—
which
refers
to
profits
from
businesses
across
insurance,
railroads
and
utilities
—
of
$8.481
billion
in
the
quarter
ending
December.
That’s
28%
above
the
$6.625
billion
from
the
year-ago
period.
For
the
full
year
2023,
that
brought
operating
earnings
up
to
$37.350
billion,
up
17%
from
$30.853
billion
in
the
prior
year.
Berkshire
also
held
$167.6
billion
in
cash
in
the
fourth
quarter,
a
record
level
that
surpasses
the
$157.2
billion
the
conglomerate
held
in
the
prior
quarter.
Berkshire
Class
A
shares
have
rallied
roughly
16%
this
year.
Berkshire
Hathaway
Class
A
shares
Geico,
the
auto
insurer
considered
Buffett’s
“favorite
child,”
reported
a
profitable
year,
with
net
underwriting
earnings
of
$5.428
billion
in
2023.
The
improved
earnings
was
driven
by
premium
rate
increases
and
lower
claims
last
year.
Meanwhile,
Burlington
Northern
Santa
Fe
(BNSF)
reported
full-year
net
earnings
of
$5.087
billion
last
year,
a
14%
drop
from
$5.946
billion
in
the
prior
year.
Insurance
underwriting
surged
to
$848
million
in
the
fourth
quarter,
spiking
430%
from
$160
million
from
the
year-ago
period,
driving
operating
earnings
for
the
conglomerate.
Insurance
investment
income
also
rose
to
$2.759
billion
on
a
quarterly
basis,
up
37%
from
$2.0
billion
in
the
same
period
in
the
year
prior.
But
operating
earnings
from
railroads
fell
in
the
fourth
quarter,
as
it
did
in
utilities
and
energy.
Operating
earnings
from
railroads
dropped
to
$1.355
billion,
down
from
$1.469
billion
a
year
ago.
Operating
earnings
for
utilities
and
energy
fell
to
$632
million,
down
from
$739
million
the
prior
year.
Overall
Berkshire
earnings,
which
include
the
company’s
investment
gains
from
publicly
traded
companies,
more
than
doubled
during
the
quarter
from
the
year-earlier
period,
reaching
$37.57
billion.
For
the
full
year,
overall
profits
came
in
at
$96.22
billion.
The
conglomerate,
however,
included
its
usual
disclaimer
advising
investors
to
look
past
fluctuations
in
quarterly
results.
“We
believe
that
investment
gains
and
losses
on
investments
in
equity
securities,
whether
realized
from
dispositions
or
unrealized
from
changes
in
market
prices,
are
generally
meaningless
in
understanding
our
reported
periodic
results
or
evaluating
the
economic
performance
of
our
operating
businesses,”
read
a
statement
in
the
annual
report.
