Berkshire Hathaway BRK earnings Q3 2025
Warren Buffett and Greg Abel cover the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting on May 3, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway It reported a sharp recovery in operating profit on Saturday, while its cash pile rose to a new high without any buybacks.
Berkshire’s operating profit from the conglomerate’s wholly owned businesses, including insurance and railroads, rose 34% year over year to $13.485 billion in the third quarter. The gains were driven by a more than 200% increase in insurance underwriting revenue, which rose to $2.37 billion.
Buffett once again refrained from buying back shares despite the significant decline in stocks. The company said no share buybacks will occur in the first nine months of 2025. The group’s Class A and B shares increased by 5 percent in 2025, while the S&P 500 increased by 16.3 percent.
Without any buybacks, Berkshire’s cash stockpile rose to $381.6 billion, surpassing the previous high of $347.7 billion set in the first quarter of this year.
Berkshire also found other stocks unattractive; Net selling stocks generated taxable gains of $10.4 billion in the third quarter.
Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares year-to-date
Buffett, 95, announced in May that he would step down as CEO at the end of the year after six decades of epic success. Greg Abel, Berkshire’s vice president of non-insurance operations, will take over as chief executive officer, while Buffett will remain chairman of the board. Abel will also begin writing annual letters in 2026.
Shares of the Omaha-based conglomerate fell by double digits from all-time highs following the announcement. The sales partly reflect the so-called Buffett premium, or the extra price investors are willing to pay because of the billionaire’s unique background and exceptional capital allocation skills.
Last month, Berkshire announced a deal to buy Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemical unit OxyChem for $9.7 billion in cash. The deal was the largest since 2022, when Berkshire paid $11.6 billion to insurer Alleghany.
Total earnings, which include gains from Berkshire’s investments in other public companies, rose 17% annually to $30.8 billion.
