Berkshire Hathaway: Insurance Losses Drag Down Second-Quarter Operating Earnings
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) reported that operating earnings, a figure which excludes volatile investment gains and derivative fluctuations, declined 11% to $4.1 billion in the second quarter compared to the year-ago period. Net income, which includes investment gains, fell 15% to $4.3 billion. A drop in insurance underwriting profit led the decline in operating earnings and net income.
To really understand Berkshire Hathaway, you have to understand the many business units that flow into its income statement. Below, I'll break the company down into five pieces that flow into its operating earnings line.
This bucket is something like Berkshire's hall closet -- stuffed to the brim with items (companies), some of which are pure gold, and some of which are merely collecting dust. Taken as a whole, earnings from this segment tallied to $1.66 billion, an increase of 11% over the year-ago period.
Source: Fool.com
