Berkshire Hathaway outlines earnings in Q2 and first half

Berkshire Hathaway outlines earnings in Q2 and first half | Insurance Business America

Insurance News

Berkshire Hathaway outlines earnings in Q2 and first half

Insurance underwriting results up

Insurance News

By
Terry Gangcuangco

Here’s the rundown of Berkshire’s operating results in the periods:

Metric / source

Q2 2024

Q2 2023

H1 2024

H1 2023

Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders

$30.35 billion

$35.91 billion

$43.05 billion

$71.42 billion

Insurance – underwriting

$2.26 billion

$1.25 billion

$4.86 billion

$2.16 billion

Insurance – investment income

$3.32 billion

$2.37 billion

$5.92 billion

$4.34 billion

BNSF

$1.23 billion

$1.26 billion

$2.37 billion

$2.51 billion

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company

$655 million

$785 million

$1.37 billion

$1.20 billion

Other businesses

$3.38 billion

$3.50 billion

$6.47 billion

$6.57 billion

Operating earnings

$11.60 billion

$10.04 billion

$22.82 billion

$18.11 billion

Lifting the lid on the insurance results, Berkshire reported: “Insurance underwriting after-tax earnings increased $1.0 billion in the second quarter and $2.7 billion in the first six months of 2024 compared to 2023.

Broken down, GEICO contributed $1.79 billion in pre-tax underwriting earnings in the second quarter, while $279 million and $782 million, respectively came from Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group.

In the same period last year, GEICO’s pre-tax underwriting earnings stood at $514 million. Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group’s pre-tax underwriting earnings also improved, from $272 million previously.

Meanwhile, the group added: “After-tax earnings from insurance investment income increased $951 million in the second quarter and $1.6 billion in the first six months of 2024 compared to 2023, driven by higher interest income from our short-term investments in US Treasury Bills.”

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