Warren Buffett saw few investment opportunities at home or abroad, with no chance for "eye-popping performance," as Berkshire Hathaway reported record cash levels Saturday morning. Berkshire stock rose solidly early Monday.
There remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they have been endlessly picked over by us and by others," Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders. "Outside the U.S., there are essentially no candidates that are meaningful options for capital deployment at Berkshire. All in all, we have no possibility of eye-popping performance."
Berkshire Hathaway Earnings
Berkshire Hathaway earnings rose 28% on an operating basis vs. a year earlier to $8.48 billion, as underwriting and investment income offset some weakness at its railroad, energy and utility operations. Operating profit per class A share swelled 30% to $5,881, topping the FactSet consensus of $5,717.
Total after-tax earnings more than doubled to $37.6 billion, largely due to paper gains on Berkshire's vast investment holdings. Buffett favors operating profit over GAAP earnings.
In addition to major insurance businesses, including Geico, Berkshire Hathaway owns utilities, BNSF railroad and more.
In Q4, Berkshire bought back $2.2 billion worth of its own shares. That's up from $1.1 billion in Q3 and totaling $9.2 billion for the year.
With Buffett not finding great opportunities to invest, Berkshire's cash hoard swelled to a fresh record of $167.6 billion from Q3's $157 billion.
Berkshire Stock
Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares climbed 2% early Monday. Shares rose 2.8% to 417.22 last week, a fresh high. It was BRKB stock's sixth straight weekly gain.
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