Berkshire Hathaway announced Saturday that its quarterly earnings dropped substantially in the final three months of the year, driven by investment losses and weakened performance from its insurance operations.
The financial results represent the conclusion of Warren Buffett’s era as the company’s chief executive officer, with Greg Abel now assuming the CEO role while Buffett continues as chairman of the board.
The investment conglomerate revealed it closed out the year holding $373.3 billion in cash reserves, providing Abel with substantial resources to pursue large-scale acquisitions that had been challenging for Buffett to secure in recent years.
The company’s quarterly operational earnings dropped by 30 percent to $10.2 billion, equivalent to approximately $7,092 for each Class A share, compared to $14.53 billion during the same period the previous year.
The earnings decline was attributed to significant losses on the company’s stakes in Kraft Heinz and Occidental Petroleum, combined with weaker results from Berkshire’s various insurance subsidiaries.
