Berkshire says third-quarter operating earnings fell to $12.705 billion

Berkshire Hathaway has reported third-quarter operating earnings of $12.705 billion, down from $13.485 billion a year earlier. The figures are after tax. The company released them on November 7 and said the limited information in the release is not adequate for an investment judgment.

The company bought back about $9.6 billion of stock. Berkshire acquired approximately $9.6 billion in treasury shares during the third quarter of 2026, bringing the nine-month total to about $14.4 billion. On September 30, 2026, there were 1,418,900 Class A equivalent shares outstanding.

Net earnings moved with investment gains. Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders were $22.112 billion, compared with $30.796 billion a year earlier. Investment gains were $9.407 billion, compared with $17.311 billion. Those gains included $7.7 billion from changes in unrealized gains on equity holdings and $1.7 billion of after-tax realized gains on sales of investments. Net earnings were $15,502 per average equivalent Class A share, compared with $21,413, and $10.33 per Class B share, compared with $14.28.

Berkshire says quarterly investment gains are usually meaningless. The company said, "The amount of investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading to investors who have little or no knowledge of accounting rules." It defines operating earnings as net earnings exclusive of investment gains and losses, impairments of goodwill and intangible assets, and other-than-temporary impairments of equity method investments.

Insurance underwriting declined. Underwriting earnings were $1.352 billion, from $2.369 billion a year earlier. Insurance investment income was $2.734 billion, from $3.181 billion.

Rail, energy, and manufacturing rose. BNSF earnings were $1.729 billion, from $1.449 billion. Berkshire Hathaway Energy earnings were $1.612 billion, from $1.489 billion. Manufacturing, service and retailing earnings were $4.042 billion, from $3.616 billion. The other category was $1.236 billion, from $1.381 billion, and included $343 million of foreign-currency losses on non-U.S. dollar debt.

Nine-month operating earnings rose. For the first nine months of 2026, operating earnings were $37.034 billion, from $34.286 billion. Net earnings were $57.885 billion, from $47.769 billion.

Float stood at about $178.5 billion. Insurance float was approximately $178.5 billion at September 30, an increase of approximately $2.1 billion since year-end 2025. Berkshire says readers should use the 10-Q posted on its site, not this release alone, before making an investment judgment.