Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK.A) announced that its first-quarter 2023 operating profit after taxes rose 12.6% to $8.1 billion on higher investment income and a rebound in its insurance business.
Operating earnings are the profit left after costs from a business’ core operations are removed.
The conglomerate’s total first-quarter profit, though, came in at $35.5 billion.
Geico, considered the crown jewel of Berkshire’s insurance holdings, returned to an underwriting profit of $703 million in 1Q after suffering a loss last year as competitor Progressive ate into its market share.
Berkshire also repurchased $4.4 billion worth of its stock during the quarter, the most since the first quarter of 2021 and an increased from $2.8 billion at the end of last year.
Meanwhile at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) that was held over the weekend, Buffett told shareholders commercial real estate could struggle with higher borrowing rates and banks could face more pressure but noted that deposits were safe.
Buffett said in regards to the regional banking crisis in the US, bank regulators need to find a way to punish executives and board members who make risky decisions that doom a bank.
He also noted that Berkshire Hathaway wouldn’t take a controlling interest in Occidental Petroleum.
As for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Berkshire's biggest stock holding, Buffett called it a wonderful business because of how devoted consumers are to their iPhones.
Berkshire Class B shares rose more than 1% to $327.49 in early Monday trading.
Berkshire Class A shares, meanwhile, hit a 52-week high recently, briefly exceeding $500,000.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com