Berkshire Hathaway Posts $12.71B in Q3 Operating Profit

Berkshire Hathaway posted $12.71 billion in third-quarter operating profit, while five companies accounted for 65% of the fair value of its equity portfolio, showing the concentration of its stock holdings at quarter-end.

Operating profit fell 5.8% from a year earlier. Net income attributable to shareholders totaled $22.112 billion, compared with $30.796 billion in the third quarter last year. Net investment income was $9.407 billion, down from $17.311 billion a year earlier. Earnings per Class A equivalent common share were $15,502.

As of Sept. 30, Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola together represented 65% of the fair value of Berkshire’s equity investments. The five positions therefore made up most of the portfolio’s reported value. The earnings comparisons use the third quarter of the prior year, while the portfolio figure is a quarter-end valuation of its holdings.

Berkshire repurchased $9.6 billion of its shares during the quarter.