Berkshire Hathaway Q3 Operating Earnings Slip 5.8% to $12.7 Billion as Buybacks Hit $9.6 Billion
Berkshire Hathaway's operating earnings fell 5.8% in the third quarter to $12.705 billion, as weaker insurance results outweighed gains at its railroad, utility and manufacturing, service and retailing businesses, according to the earnings release it issued Saturday and filed with an 8-K on Monday.
The conglomerate also stepped up share repurchases. Berkshire said it acquired an estimated $9.6 billion of its own shares during the quarter, bringing the nine-month total to an estimated $14.4 billion.
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders were $22.112 billion, or $15,502 per average equivalent Class A share and $10.33 per Class B share, down from $30.796 billion a year earlier. That figure included $9.407 billion of investment gains, compared with $17.311 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
Berkshire told investors to look past the headline number. The company said the amount of investment gains or losses in any given quarter "is usually meaningless" and can produce per-share figures that are "extremely misleading" to investors unfamiliar with accounting rules.
Insurance cools, railroad accelerates
Insurance underwriting earnings dropped 42.9% to $1.352 billion from $2.369 billion, and insurance investment income fell 14.1% to $2.734 billion, the release shows.
The operating businesses picked up some of the slack. BNSF earned $1.729 billion after tax, up 19.3% from $1.449 billion. Berkshire Hathaway Energy rose 8.3% to $1.612 billion, and the manufacturing, service and retailing group climbed 11.8% to $4.042 billion.
The "other" line contributed $1.236 billion, down from $1.381 billion. It included foreign currency exchange losses of $343 million on non-U.S. dollar debt in the quarter, compared with gains of $331 million a year earlier, the company said.
Through nine months, underwriting earnings were $4.800 billion, down from $5.697 billion, while BNSF earned $4.664 billion, up from $4.129 billion. Average equivalent Class A shares outstanding in the quarter fell to 1,426,372 from 1,438,223.
For the first nine months, operating earnings rose 8.0% to $37.034 billion from $34.286 billion. Nine-month net earnings attributable to shareholders were $57.885 billion, up from $47.769 billion, a 2025 period that included a $3.760 billion impairment of the Kraft Heinz investment.
Investment gains in the quarter included $1.7 billion of after-tax realized gains on sales of investments, down from $8.1 billion a year earlier, plus $7.7 billion from changes in unrealized gains on equity holdings.
At Sept. 30, insurance float stood at an estimated $178.5 billion, an increase of an estimated $2.1 billion since year-end 2025, the company said. Berkshire had 1,418,900 Class A equivalent shares outstanding on that date.
By the numbers
- Q3 operating earnings: $12.705 billion, down 5.8%
- Q3 net earnings to shareholders: $22.112 billion, down from $30.796 billion
- Insurance underwriting: $1.352 billion, down 42.9%
- BNSF: $1.729 billion, up 19.3%
- Q3 share repurchases: an estimated $9.6 billion
- Insurance float: an estimated $178.5 billion
Sources
- Berkshire Hathaway Form 8-K with Exhibit 99.1 earnings release dated Nov. 7, 2026, filed Nov. 9, 2026 (accession 0001193125-26-452530)
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