On November 7, Berkshire released its third-quarter results. This was the first set of results fully under Greg Abel’s leadership since he took over as CEO in January this year and Buffett stepped down as chairman in September.
Operating earnings were $12.705 billion, down 5.8% year over year. The entire drag came from insurance: underwriting earnings were $1.352 billion, down 42.9%, while the auto insurance combined ratio rose from 84.3% to 91.4%. There were no major catastrophes this quarter; in the same period last year, California wildfires alone caused about $850 million in after-tax losses. The pressure is coming from the pricing cycle itself.
Meanwhile, cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries totaled $377.4 billion, a record high. Berkshire repurchased $9.647 billion of its shares during the quarter—more than twice as much as in the second quarter and the most in any quarter this year. When a company spends money on its own stock, it usually means it hasn’t found a more attractive opportunity elsewhere.
The market’s reaction is even more telling: over the past month, Class A shares rose more than 12%, while the S&P 500 fell 5.5%. Year to date, Berkshire’s shares are up 13%, compared with a 7.8% gain for the index. Money flowing out of tech stocks is moving to places that won’t suddenly collapse.
#伯克希尔 #资本配置 #U.S. stocks
Operating earnings were $12.705 billion, down 5.8% year over year. The entire drag came from insurance: underwriting earnings were $1.352 billion, down 42.9%, while the auto insurance combined ratio rose from 84.3% to 91.4%. There were no major catastrophes this quarter; in the same period last year, California wildfires alone caused about $850 million in after-tax losses. The pressure is coming from the pricing cycle itself.
Meanwhile, cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries totaled $377.4 billion, a record high. Berkshire repurchased $9.647 billion of its shares during the quarter—more than twice as much as in the second quarter and the most in any quarter this year. When a company spends money on its own stock, it usually means it hasn’t found a more attractive opportunity elsewhere.
The market’s reaction is even more telling: over the past month, Class A shares rose more than 12%, while the S&P 500 fell 5.5%. Year to date, Berkshire’s shares are up 13%, compared with a 7.8% gain for the index. Money flowing out of tech stocks is moving to places that won’t suddenly collapse.
#伯克希尔 #资本配置 #U.S. stocks
