Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A / BRK.B) has reported strong third-quarter financial results alongside record cash holdings of $381.6 billion U.S.
Berkshire Hathaway, which is a diversified holding company, announced that its operating profit from its wholly owned businesses, jumped 34% year-over-year to $13.485 billion U.S.
The gains were largely driven by a more than 200% surge in insurance underwriting income, which rose to $2.37 billion U.S.
Buffett didn’t repurchase any Berkshire Hathaway shares in the quarter despite a significant pullback in the stock price after he announced in May that he plans to step down as CEO at year’s end.
The company has not bought back any of its own stock this year, resulting in Berkshire’s cash hoard swelling to nearly $400 billion U.S. from $347.7 billion U.S. at the start of 2025.
Berkshire Hathaway also didn’t find other stocks to buy in the most recent quarter, selling equities in the third quarter for a taxable gain of $10.4 billion U.S.
Overall earnings, which include gains from Berkshire’s investments in other publicly traded companies, rose 17% to $30.8 billion U.S. from a year earlier.
In September, Berkshire announced that it is buying Occidental Petroleum’s (OXY) petrochemical unit, OxyChem, for $9.7 billion U.S. in cash.
The deal marks Berkshire’s biggest since 2022, when it paid $11.6 billion U.S. for insurer Alleghany. However, the company is still sitting on a massive amount of cash.
Berkshire’s more affordable Class B stock is up about 5% this year, trailing the S&P 500’s 16% gain.
The stock has declined since Buffett, age 95, announced he’s stepping down as CEO at year-end after running Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years.
Canadian businessman Greg Abel, who is from Edmonton, Alberta, is set to take over as CEO on Jan. 1, 2026.
Buffett will remain chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s board of directors. This was his last quarterly earnings report as CEO.
The Oracle of Omaha, as Buffett is known, has said he plans to release a letter to shareholders on Nov. 10, a little more than a month before his tenure at the company’s helm ends.
Berkshire Hathaway owns companies ranging from Geico insurance to the BNSF railroad and Dairy Queen restaurant chain.
