Warren Buffett will walk the floor before the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2024.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway on Saturday reported a massive surge in fourth quarter revenues from its operating operations, while its cash holdings surged to record levels, largely under insurance.
The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate said it had surged operating profit from the company’s wholly owned companies from 71% to $1452.7 billion in the last three months of 2024. $3.49 billion from the annual period. Insurance investment revenues also rose from nearly 50% to $4.0888 billion.
Operating profit also rose 27% year-round to $4.7437 million.
“In 2024, Berkshire reported a decline in revenue, 53% of 189 operating companies, which did better than I expected. Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire, wrote in an annual letter to shareholders. , liquid short-term securities,” Buffett said. “Our insurance business has also resulted in a significant increase in revenue that leads GEICO’s performance.”
Indeed, Berkshire warned that the wildfires that erupted in Southern California would lead to an estimate of approximately $1.3 billion in pre-tax losses in the insurance business.
Cash holdings exceed $300 billion
Berkshire Hathaway closed in 2024 with $334.2 billion in cash, up from $325.2 billion in the third quarter. This fortress comes when Buffett struggles to find his next big investment goal.
In his annual letter, Buffett defended a massive cash holding.
“Even though some commentators now consider Berkshire’s extraordinary cash job, the majority of your money remains in stocks. That preference remains the same. Last year, the marketable stocks were the most common. Ownership has moved downwards from $354 billion to $272 billion. The value of unquoted uncontrolled stocks has increased somewhat and remains much greater than the value of a marketable portfolio.” “Berkshire shareholders can rest with confidence that we will do so and roll out a fair majority of their money into the stocks forever.”
The fourth quarter’s investment growth slowed sharply from $29.93 billion to $5.167 billion year-on-year. Certainly, Berkshire paved stock investments that year. In particular, they sold chunks of Apple stocks until 2024.
Certainly, Berkshire is always focusing on its revenue. Accounting rules. ”
The company’s Class A stake reached over 25% in 2024.
