Berkshire Hathaway on Saturday reported a sharp drop in first-quarter profits, driven largely by lower investment income, as the conglomerate’s chief executive, Warren E. Buffett, prepares to speak at its annual investor meeting.
Those results belie an increase in operating earnings, which track the actual profits that Berkshire’s array of companies produce, and in Berkshire’s formidable cash hoard — which totaled nearly $189 billion as of March 31 — that points to the company’s robust health.
The company’s latest results set a backdrop for the meeting in downtown Omaha, which will be the first for Berkshire since the death in November of Charles Munger, Mr. Buffett’s longtime business partner and alter ego, at age 99.
For the first three months of the year, Berkshire reported $12.7 billion in earnings attributable to its shareholders, down 64 percent from the same time a year ago.
Driving the drop was a steep fall in the paper value of Berkshire’s vast investment portfolio though Mr. Buffett has long warned shareholders to ignore fluctuations in the company’s stock holdings.
Persons:
Berkshire Hathaway, Warren E, Buffett, Charles Munger, Buffett’s
Organizations:
Berkshire
Locations:
Omaha, Berkshire