Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Operating Earnings Soar

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A; BRK.B) reported on Saturday that fourth-quarter operating earnings surged more than 70% year-over-year.

The conglomerate posted operating earnings of $14.53 billion, up from $8.48 billion a year ago. Berkshire’s total 2024 operating earnings came to $47.44 billion, a 27% rise from $37.35 billion the prior year.

“In 2024, Berkshire did better than I expected though 53% of our 189 operating businesses reported a decline in earnings,” Buffett wrote in his annual letter to shareholders. “We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly liquid short-term securities.”

Last quarter, Berkshire registered operating earnings of $10.1 billion and its cash pile swelled to a record $320.3 billion as it trimmed its stakes in Apple (AAPL) and Bank of America (BAC).

During the fourth quarter, Berkshire exited its position in Ulta Beauty (ULTA) after buying into it in Q2 and then offloading more than 96% of its shares in Q3. While Berkshire did not make any changes to its Apple holdings, it offloaded another 117 million shares of Bank of America and now owns roughly 680 million shares or nearly 9% of the bank.