Berkshire Hathaway sees jump in earnings as annual meeting begins
New York CNN —
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported a jump in earnings in the first quarter of 2023 ahead of the Oracle of Omaha’s annual shareholders meeting.
Operating earnings increased about 12% from the prior year to $8.065 billion in the first quarter, the earnings release said Saturday. Operating earnings are the profit left after costs from a business’ core operations are taken out.
The conglomerate posted a $35.5 billion first-quarter profit.
The jump in earnings is attributed in part to a comeback in Berkshire’s insurance empire.
The company’s insurance underwriting business saw a clear spike, from earnings of $167 million in the first quarter of 2022 to $911 million now. Insurance investment income increased from $1.17 billion to $1.97 billion.
Geico, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, had a $1.9 billion pretax underwriting loss at year’s end, after losing market share to competitor Progressive. So far this year, it is faring better, posting an underwriting profit of $703 million in this year’s Q1, thanks to higher average premiums and lower advertising costs, despite lower claims frequencies.
However, Berkshire’s energy company and freight railroad company, BNSF, had a decrease in earnings compared to this quarter last year.
Berkshire also bought back approximately $4.4 billion in stocks, and its cash hoard increased to $130.6 billion from $128 billion in 2022 Q4.
Coined “Woodstock for Capitalists,” the annual meeting will feature Buffett, 92, and Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger, 99, who took the stage on Saturday to answer questions from shareholders and engage in discussion about the business and broader economy.
Takeaways from the meeting
Source: CNN
