Buffett’s Berkshire Takes Earnings Hit on Insurance coverage Headwinds

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

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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 an announcement Saturday. That helped drag down the agency’s earnings for the three months by means of September.

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

• The corporate repurchased $1.05 billion of shares within the interval, in step with the roughly $1 billion purchased again within the prior three months. Buffett has more and more turned to buybacks as a means 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 internet 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 yr. 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 % within the second quarter, after recording an almost 23% drop within the first three months of the yr.

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