The insurance float grew to $86.2 billion, up from $83 billion during the year-ago period. Then, in March, they engineered Heinz’s purchase of Kraft Foods Group Inc., creating the third-biggest food and beverage company in North America and a $4.4 billion windfall for Berkshire.
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Berkshire Hathaway, along with investment firm 3G, bought the ketchup maker for $28 billion in 2013. On a per share basis, Berkshire Hathaway earned $2,769 versus $2,876.
Those are the types of absurd numbers you get when the greatest investor of all time, Warren Buffett, runs the company for 50 years, never splits the stock, and ends up with a stock worth over $200,000/share. Combined, the railroad, utilities, and energy companies remain attractive places for Berkshire to invest its capital.
Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman, chief executive officer and largest shareholder, has still found ways to build value.
Book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities, rose nearly 1 percent from June 30 to $151,083 a share.
Kraft Heinz helped Berkshire offset recent struggles with other large investments such as worldwide Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), and in a few operating businesses including the Geico auto insurer. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $2,769.18 per share.
Berkshire said profit at BNSF was bolstered by “improved operating performance”, as the railroad spends $6 billion to add capacity and improve service following shortfalls in 2014. The price of its class B shares dropped more than 9 percent ytd. Given the current circumstances, he doubts if it has gained much since the second quarter. The company has a market cap of $339.93 billion. Buffett has said he plans to spend about one-third of that on Precision Castparts.
That was just a hair above the $2,760.20 that analysts expected going into the quarter.
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In Friday trading, Berkshire Class A shares fell $1,594 to $203,100, and its Class B shares fell 24 cents to $136.33.
