Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Reports 66% Fall in Earnings

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a loss in net earnings by 66% to $10.34 billion. Investment gains equaled to $3.88 billion in recent times whereas gains of $24.77 billion were reported a year ago. Operating earnings increased to $6.47 billion from $5.5 billion.

Berkshire includes multiple businesses including insurance, retailers, manufacturers, auto-dealerships, utilities and a large investment in the stock market. The conglomerate’s earnings often reflect the stock market due to changes made in accounting processes.

Cathy Seifart, analyst at CFRA Research said, “It was an OK quarter versus expectations. Berkshire is a microcosm of the broader economy, and what we saw from the businesses is a reflection of the economic activity that has been constrained by supply-chain issues.”

Berkshire’s insurance business experienced losses amounting to $784 million during the third quarter, up from $213 million a year ago. Most of these losses are a due to Hurricane Ida which ravaged New Orleans two months ago. American Express Co., Apple Inc., and Coca Cola Co. are among the top holdings in the equity portfolio of Berkshire. Class A shares closed at $434,000 and climbed 26%.

Warren Buffets Company is known for its success on Wall Street and has gains of over 20% from the year 1965 to 2020. The business magnate’s sound and loss-proof investments have given him the name, “the oracle of Omaha.” However, in the past couple of years, the company’s performance has slipped with annualized returns of approximately 15% for the S&P 500.

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