Berkshire Hathaway Loses $2.69-B For 3rd Quarter

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Saturday (Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Manila), posted a $2.69 billion third-quarter loss as rising inflation, falling stock investments and a big loss from Hurricane Ian offset improvement in many of the conglomerate's businesses, Jonathan Stempel reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Berkshire took advantage of declining equity markets to add more stocks to its $306 billion portfolio.

Operating profit, meanwhile, rose by 20%, as Berkshire benefited from increased demand and prices for new home sales, industrial products and energy, while rising interest rates helped generate more income from insurance investments.

Berkshire took advantage of declining equity markets to add more stocks to its $306 billion portfolio, buying a net $3.7 billion in the quarter and building a now 20.9% stake in the oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp.

It also bought back more of its own stock but was cautious, repurchasing $1.05 billion, similar to the second quarter.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate's cash hoard ended September at $109 billion, up from $105.4 billion in June. It spent $11.6 billion last month to buy an insurance business, Alleghany Corp.

Berkshire's conservatism may reflect the "significant disruptions" that it said it still sees in supply chains and from events it cannot control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict. It also said rising costs hurt results at two of its best-known businesses, the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer.

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