Berkshire Hathaway Swings to $21.66 Billion First-Quarter Profit
May 04 2019 - 09:00AM
Dow Jones News
By Nicole Friedman
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. swung to a
first-quarter profit, thanks in part to higher insurance investment
income.
Still, Berkshire's earnings excluded its share of earnings from
its 27% stake in Kraft Heinz Inc., because Kraft Heinz hasn't yet
filed its earnings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
Berkshire said in a press release. Write downs at Kraft Heinz
weighed on Berkshire's performance in the fourth quarter of
2018.
Berkshire and private-equity firm 3G Capital formed Kraft Heinz
when they merged their H.J. Heinz Co. with Kraft Foods Group Inc.
in 2015. Mr. Buffett said earlier this year that he overpaid for
Kraft in that deal but didn't plan to sell.
Berkshire's results were released Saturday morning ahead of the
company's widely attended annual meeting in Omaha, Neb.
Berkshire reported first-quarter net earnings of $21.66 billion,
or $13,209 per Class A share equivalent, from a loss of $1.14
billion, or $692 a share, in the year-earlier period. Last year's
first-quarter earnings swung to a loss due to unrealized investment
losses.
Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, rose
to $5.56 billion from $5.29 billion in the year prior.
Berkshire bought back $1.7 billion of its own shares in the
first quarter, the company said. Berkshire changed its buyback
policy last year, and some shareholders have said they would like
the company to spend significantly more cash repurchasing its
stock.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2019 08:45 ET (12:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024