8 Highlights of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 Third Quarter Report

These are the highlights of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 third quarter earnings report.

(1) Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 third quarter operating earnings were up 18%.

(2) Berkshire Hathaway’s cash on September 30. 2021 equaled $149.2 billion, up from $144.1 billion on June 30 and $145.4 billion on March 31.

(3) Berkshire’s stock buybacks equaled $7.6 billion in Q3 up from $6.0 billion in Q2, bringing the nine month total to $20.2 billion.  Berkshire bought back its A shares at an average price of $430,704 in August, 2021 and its B shares at $285.41. Berkshire A closed at $434,000 on November 5 and its B shares at $287.88.

(4) Berkshire in Q3 was a net seller of equities by $2 billion. It sold $3.4 billion in equities and bought $1.4 billion. Berkshire sold equities equaling $1.4 billion (on a cost basis) in “Banks, insurance, and finance” and about $500 million (on a cost basis) in “Commercial, industrial, and other”. (Berkshire’s equity portfolio as of September 30, 2021 is due to be reported after the market closes on Monday, November 15, in its SEC Form 13F filing.)

(5) Berkshire’s book value per A share on September 30, 2021 equaled  $322,199, up 2.3% from $315,088 on June 30. Its current price/book ratio = 1.35, slightly below average for Berkshire in recent years.

(6) Berkshire bought back 4,175 A shares (or equivalent) in Q4 through October 27, 2021 for about $1.8 billion.

(7) Berkshire’s insurance float on September 30 (net liabilities under insurance contracts) was approximately $145 billion, an increase of $7 billion since yearend 2020.

(8) Berkshire’s insurance underwriting business incurred losses of $784 million in Q3, increasing from a $213 million loss a year ago. Its railroad, utilities  and energy units earned $3.03 billion, up from $2.74 billion in Q3 2020.