Berkshire Hathaway / Wikimedia Commons
By: JBizNews Desk 🌎
Berkshire Hathaway’s third-quarter operating earnings fell 5.8% to $12.7 billion as lower insurance profits outweighed gains at its railroad, energy and manufacturing businesses. The results give shareholders a fresh picture of the conglomerate’s businesses as it spent $9.6 billion buying back its own shares during the quarter.
In its Saturday earnings release, Berkshire reported operating earnings of $12.705 billion, down from $13.485 billion a year earlier. Net earnings attributable to shareholders were $22.112 billion, compared with $30.796 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
Insurance earnings fell
Insurance underwriting earnings dropped to $1.352 billion from $2.369 billion, a decline of about 42.9%. Insurance investment income fell to $2.734 billion from $3.181 billion.
Those declines outweighed stronger earnings across several of Berkshire’s other major businesses:
- BNSF railroad: $1.729 billion, up from $1.449 billion.
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy: $1.612 billion, up from $1.489 billion.
- Manufacturing, service and retailing: $4.042 billion, up from $3.616 billion.
The figures are after tax. For the first nine months of 2026, operating earnings rose to $37.034 billion from $34.286 billion a year earlier.
$9.6 billion in quarterly buybacks
Berkshire acquired approximately $9.6 billion of its own shares during the third quarter, bringing repurchases for the first nine months to about $14.4 billion.
Insurance float, the funds Berkshire holds against liabilities under insurance contracts, reached approximately $178.5 billion at September 30. That was an increase of about $2.1 billion from the end of 2025.
Operating results and investment gains
Berkshire’s operating-earnings measure excludes investment gains and losses, goodwill and intangible-asset impairments, and certain impairments of equity-method investments. Its reported net earnings include changes in the market value of stock investments under accounting rules.
Investment gains were $9.407 billion in the quarter, compared with $17.311 billion a year earlier. Berkshire emphasizes operating earnings as a measure of its businesses’ performance because portfolio valuation changes can move net income sharply between quarters.
JBizNews Desk | Omaha, Nebraska
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