Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B – Get Rating), led by well-known investor and CEO Warren Buffett, is a diversified holding company with subsidiaries in insurance, energy, freight rail transportation, industrials, manufacturing, retail, and other sectors. The investment conglomerate’s market value has recently surged to a new record of almost $800 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway’s second-quarter earnings and revenue surpassed analysts’ expectations, bolstered by a rebound in insurance operations. Insurance underwriting earnings reported a 74% rise year-over-year to $1.25 billion, benefiting from higher interest rates and lower catastrophe losses.
Also, the Omaha-based company’s second-quarter operating earnings, which comprises profits from its various businesses like insurance, railroads, and utilities, came in at $10.04 billion, an increase of 6.6% from the same quarter of 2022. Its EPS totaled $4.62, above the consensus estimate of $3.99. And it compared to $4.20 a year ago.
As of June 30, 2023, the massive cash pile at Warren Buffett’s conglomerate grew to $147.38 billion, near a record and much higher than the $130.62 billion during the first quarter.
Berkshire is scheduled to report fiscal 2023 third-quarter earnings on November 2, 2023. Analysts expect BRK.B’s revenue to increase 5.7% year-over-year to $81.28 billion for the third quarter that ended September 2023. The consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.93 for the to-be-reported quarter indicates a 39.7% year-over-year rise.
However, BRK.B continues to grapple with several legal issues. Berkshire recently faced accusations that it violated the terms of a $10 billion acquisition of truck-stop chain Pilot Travel Centers by changing the accounting rules used to value part of the agreement.
Also, PacifiCorp, an electric utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway, is liable to pay punitive damages for four major…
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