Warren Buffett left before the annual general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2024.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway Saturday reported a significant increase in earnings from its operations in the fourth quarter, which was largely insurance-driven, while cash holdings swelled to record levels.
The conglomerate led by Warren Buffett said its operating profits – which cover revenue from the company’s wholly owned business – soared 71% to $14.527 billion in the last three months of 2024. The annual term is US$34.09 billion. Insurance investment income also surged by nearly 50% to $4.088 billion.
Operating income also accounted for 27% of the entire year, at $47.437 billion.
“Although Berkshire performed better than I expected in 2024, despite 53% of our 189 operating businesses falling revenue. As Treasury bill yields rise, we get predictable investment income Predictable earnings help us greatly improve these highly held high stakes Berkshire Chairman and CEO Buffett said in an annual letter to shareholders. “Our insurance business is due to GEICO’s performance. It also brought significant benefits. ”
To be sure, Berkshire warned that the wildfires in Southern California would result in an estimated pre-tax loss of about $1.3 billion in its insurance business.
Cash holding up to $330 billion
Berkshire Hathaway ended in 2024 with $334.2 billion in cash, up from $325.2 billion at the end of the third quarter. Buffett is struggling to find his next big investment goal.
Buffett defended large cash holdings in his annual letter.
“While some commentators currently believe that the cash situation at Berkshire is extraordinary, the vast majority of your money is still in stocks. This offer won’t change. While our ownership on stocks that are available for sale last year came from 354 billion last year The dollar fell to $272 billion, but he said: “The value of our non-cited controlled stocks has increased, far exceeding the value of a marketable portfolio,” he said, adding: “Berkshire Shareholders can rest assured that we will always deploy a large amount of funds in stocks. ”
Investment fell sharply to $5.167 billion in the fourth quarter, from $29.093 billion for the full year. Indeed, Berkshire cut its stock investments over the year. It is worth noting that it sold a portion of its Apple stake by 2024.
To be sure, Berkshire always points out in its revenue: “The amount of investment earnings/losses in any given quarter is usually meaningless and provides a figure of net earnings per share that is almost nothing or fundamental. Investors who don’t understand are extremely misleading. Accounting rules.”
The company’s A-level stock is above 25% in 2024.
