Key Insights
- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway posted its highest-ever quarterly operating income, surpassing $10 billion for the first time.
- Portfolio-adjusted earnings hit nearly $36 billion, and Berkshire Hathaway’s cash holdings rose to near-record levels
Berkshire Hathaway, led by 93-year-old billionaire Warren Buffett, posted $10.04 billion in operating profit in the second quarter of 2023, according to company reports.
This is a record quarterly operating profit for Berkshire Hathaway, exceeding $10 billion for the first time in the company’s history, Reuters noted.
Operating profit for the quarter increased by 6.6% compared to the same quarter in 2022.
Berkshire Hathaway is forced to report the value of large blocks of shares it owns, including Apple, American Express and Bank of America, and price fluctuations are reflected in the results, the Financial Times explained.
As the stock has risen, so has earnings including stocks rose to $35.91 billion. By comparison, the company had a total loss of $43.6 billion over the same period in 2022. Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio is valued at $35 billion, the FT noted.
The amount of cash at the disposal of the company was also close to the record: it now stands at $147.4 billion. Berkshire Hathaway reached its maximum result in 2021, when it was $149 billion, the FT wrote.
Investors are keeping a close eye on British Hathaway’s results because of Buffett’s reputation as one of the world’s most successful investors, and because the company’s results often reflect significant economic trends in general, Reuters added.
Berkshire Hathaway reported earnings even as Buffett warned shareholders at the annual convention back in May that much of the profits of the company’s divisions could decline this year due to the fact that the “incredible period” in the US economy is ending, Bloomberg noted. The agency believes that the company was helped by the rapid increase in the base rate of the US Federal Reserve System (FRS): Berkshire Hathaway invests cash mainly in short-term bonds of the US Treasury.
How much is Warren Buffet worth?
Buffett is ranked sixth in the ranking of the richest businessmen right now, follows from the Forbes Real-Time ranking , which is updated in real time depending on quotes. Buffett is worth an estimated $117.5 billion.
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At the Berkshire Hathaway convention in May, Buffett advised shareholders to write their own obituary and try to live up to it, and in investing, try not to make strategy-destroying mistakes and avoid debt other than mortgages.