Warren Buffett poses with Martin the Geisha gecko before the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway shares rose in premarket trading Monday after Warren Buffett's conglomerate reported a jump in operating profits and record cash holdings.
Berkshire's A class stock It was up 1.5% on the previous session. meanwhile, class B The stock price has recently increased by about 1.2%.
The move comes after the company posted operating profit of $11.22 billion in the first quarter, up 39% from a year earlier, primarily due to higher underwriting revenue. Operating income measures revenue across all of Berkshire's businesses.
Berkshire Hathaway Class B
The strength of the insurance business, especially its crown jewel Geico, comes as the sector as a whole benefits from higher demand and improved pricing power. Underwriting revenue was $2,598 million, an increase of 185% from $911 million in the prior-year period. Geico's revenue increased 174% to $1.928 billion from his $703 million in the year-ago period.
Berkshire's cash holdings have swelled to record levels, in part because Berkshire hasn't been able to find suitable buyers in recent years. Cash in the first quarter jumped to a record $188.99 billion from $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
“Underwriting returns have improved significantly, and investment returns are almost certain to increase after that,” Buffett said on Saturday. Conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska. “And I said that in the annual report because yields are much higher than they were last year. And there are a lot of fixed short-term investments that are very sensitive to changes in interest rates.”
Berkshire Hathaway stock has outperformed already this year, with each share class up more than 10%. The S&P 500 is up more than 7% this year.
Class A shares reached their highest closing price this year, reaching $634,440 in March. Friday's closing price was $603,000. The Class B shares last traded at about $400 per share, about 5% below their previous closing high of $420.52, also set in March.
However, Wall Street analysts remain positive on the company's prospects. UBS analyst Brian Meredith rates Berkshire a “buy,” citing outperforming earnings and saying Geico is on pace to catch up to competitors such as Progressive in data analytics by 2025. He pointed out that progress is being made. His price target of $734,820 is up from $722,234, and is 17% above his target price. The stock closed Friday.
Edward Jones analyst James Shanahan also maintained his rating on Berkshire, saying the current stock price is already heavily priced in. However, he said: “We continue to expect solid earnings from BRK's diverse group of operating companies.”
Summarize this content to 100 words Warren Buffett poses with Martin the Geisha gecko before the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.David A. Grogan | CNBCBerkshire Hathaway shares rose in premarket trading Monday after Warren Buffett's conglomerate reported a jump in operating profits and record cash holdings.Berkshire's A class stock It was up 1.5% on the previous session. meanwhile, class B The stock price has recently increased by about 1.2%.The move comes after the company posted operating profit of $11.22 billion in the first quarter, up 39% from a year earlier, primarily due to higher underwriting revenue. Operating income measures revenue across all of Berkshire's businesses.Stock chart iconStock chart iconBerkshire Hathaway Class BThe strength of the insurance business, especially its crown jewel Geico, comes as the sector as a whole benefits from higher demand and improved pricing power. Underwriting revenue was $2,598 million, an increase of 185% from $911 million in the prior-year period. Geico's revenue increased 174% to $1.928 billion from his $703 million in the year-ago period.Berkshire's cash holdings have swelled to record levels, in part because Berkshire hasn't been able to find suitable buyers in recent years. Cash in the first quarter jumped to a record $188.99 billion from $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter.”Underwriting returns have improved significantly, and investment returns are almost certain to increase after that,” Buffett said on Saturday. Conglomerate's annual shareholder meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska. “And I said that in the annual report because yields are much higher than they were last year. And there are a lot of fixed short-term investments that are very sensitive to changes in interest rates.”Berkshire Hathaway stock has outperformed already this year, with each share class up more than 10%. The S&P 500 is up more than 7% this year.Class A shares reached their highest closing price this year, reaching $634,440 in March. Friday's closing price was $603,000. The Class B shares last traded at about $400 per share, about 5% below their previous closing high of $420.52, also set in March.However, Wall Street analysts remain positive on the company's prospects. UBS analyst Brian Meredith rates Berkshire a “buy,” citing outperforming earnings and saying Geico is on pace to catch up to competitors such as Progressive in data analytics by 2025. He pointed out that progress is being made. His price target of $734,820 is up from $722,234, and is 17% above his target price. The stock closed Friday.Edward Jones analyst James Shanahan also maintained his rating on Berkshire, saying the current stock price is already heavily priced in. However, he said: “We continue to expect solid earnings from BRK's diverse group of operating companies.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/06/berkshire-hathaway-gains-as-insurance-lifts-first-quarter-profit-and-cash-nears-200-billion.html Berkshire Hathaway gains as insurance boosts first-quarter profit and cash approaches $200 billion
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