Topline
Berkshire Hathaway stock surged Monday to the highest levels on record after Saturday’s earnings report, which saw the conglomerate run by the billionaire Warren Buffett posting an unprecedented operating profit, pushing the company’s profit to $35.9 billion in the second quarter of 2023, up from a $43.6 billion loss last year.
Key Facts
Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares rose more than 3.6% to $362.58 on Wall Street, beating its previous record from March 28, 2022.
The Omaha-based conglomerate’s much more expensive Class A stock also broke the same record after rising 3.43% to close at $551,920.
The stock rally follows the company’s disclosure that this year’s second-quarter operating profit was in excess of $10 billion, rising 6.6% from $9.4 billion in the same period last year.
Income from the company’s insurance business, which rose by 74% to $1.25 billion in the three months to June 2023 on the back of fewer cases of accidents, contributed to the company’s operating profit, according to the earnings report.
Berkshire Hathaway also saw income from investment of insurance and reinsurance premiums surge by 24% to $2.37 billion following higher interest rates in the fixed-income market.
Gains from both the insurance business and investment proceeds helped Berkshire to offset weaker incomes from other business segments, including BNSF railroad that had a slowdown due to lower overall freight volumes.
Big Number
$147 billion. That’s how much Berkshire Hathaway had in cash and short-time investments in Treasuries as of June 2023, up 13% from $130.6 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
Forbes Valuation
Warren Buffett is the fifth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $121.5 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates.
Surprising Fact
Buffett still lives in the same Omaha, Nebraska, home he purchased in 1958 for $31,500.
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