Buffett’s Berkshire Takes Earnings Hit on Insurance coverage Headwinds

(Bloomberg) — Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s insurance coverage companies took successful within the third quarter because the sector grappled with the fallout from Hurricane Ian and elevated frequency and severity of claims within the auto house.

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• The conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett posted a $962 million loss on its insurance coverage underwriting companies, the corporate stated in a press release Saturday. That helped drag down the agency’s earnings for the three months via September.

• The agency’s Geico automobile insurance coverage unit recorded a $759 million pretax loss amid inflation and elevated automobile costs, almost tripling the loss posted in the identical interval final 12 months.

• The corporate repurchased $1.05 billion of shares within the interval, according to the roughly $1 billion purchased again within the prior three months. Buffett has more and more turned to buybacks as a approach of deploying money when alternatives are in any other case sparse.

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• The corporate’s money hoard elevated barely to $109 billion as Buffett maintained its stash of dry powder amid a market downturn spurred by financial fears.

• Berkshire additionally reported a web lack of $2.69 billion primarily resulting from losses on its funding and derivatives portfolio.

• For the primary time, Berkshire included outcomes from Occidental Petroleum Corp. in its report after its stake within the firm surpassed 20% earlier this 12 months. Together with warrants, the conglomerate owns nearly 30% of the oil agency.

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• Berkshire’s assertion is right here.

• The corporate’s Class A inventory fell lower than a p.c within the second quarter, after recording a virtually 23% drop within the first three months of the 12 months.

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