Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reports $44 billion loss as portfolio value falls


Warren Buffett’s company reported a loss of $43.76 billion in the second quarter as the paper value of its investments plummeted and he bought significantly fewer shares, but Berkshire Hathaway’s many operating companies generally performed well.

Berkshire said Saturday that a largely unrealized $53 billion decline in the value of its investments forced it to report a loss of nearly $44 billion, or $29,754 per Class A share. That’s down from $28.1 billion, or $18,488 per year. A share a year ago.

Buffett has long said he believes Berkshire’s operating earnings are a better measure of the company’s performance because they exclude investment gains and losses, which can vary widely from quarter to quarter. As such, Berkshire’s earnings rose significantly to $9.28 billion, or $6,312.49 per Class A share, from last year’s $6.69 billion, or $4,399.92 per Class A share.

The four analysts polled by FactSet expected Berkshire to report operating earnings per Class A share of $4,741.64.

In addition to investments, Berkshire owns more than 90 companies directly. Berkshire said operating profits were up at all of its major units, including its insurers, major utilities and the BNSF railroad.

Berkshire said it was sitting on $105.4 billion in cash at the end of the quarter, which was little changed from the $106 billion it reported at the end of the first quarter.

It signaled that Buffett did not buy nearly as many shares during the second quarter, even though it has reported investing billions in Occidental Petroleum stock. In the first three months of the year, Berkshire spent more than $51 billion on stocks.

Also see: Warren Buffett says this is the ‘biggest mistake’ people make with their money (and psst: it has to do with savings)

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