Business Description

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that owns subsidiaries across a wide range of industries. Its most important operations are its primary and reinsurance insurance businesses (including GEICO and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance), the BNSF freight-rail transportation business, and the Berkshire Hathaway Energy group of regulated utilities. Berkshire also owns dozens of manufacturing, service and retailing businesses and holds one of the largest equity-securities portfolios in the world. The company is run on an unusually decentralized basis, with capital allocation and major investment decisions directed centrally by its chief executive officer.

Financial Statements

In thousands, USD
FY 2025FY 2024FY 2023FY 2022
Insurance premiums earned88,90288,25783,40374,576
Sales and service revenues199,524202,334207,148157,518
Leasing revenues10,0349,2278,4167,514
Interest, dividend and other investment income23,26121,82515,76410,263
Railroad transportation revenues23,33023,35523,79125,802
Utility and energy operating revenues21,85621,51821,23221,023
Service revenues and other income4,5374,9174,7285,324
Total Revenues371,444371,433364,482302,020
Investment gains (losses)39,07852,79974,855(67,899)
Total costs and expenses318,473315,697321,144266,484
Earnings (loss) before income taxes and equity method earnings92,049108,535118,193(32,363)
Equity method earnings (losses)(9,590)1,8411,9731,863
Earnings (loss) before income taxes82,459110,376120,166(30,500)
Income tax expense (benefit)15,19920,81523,019(8,502)
Net earnings (loss)67,26089,56197,147(21,998)
Earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests292566924761
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Berkshire shareholders66,96888,99596,223(22,759)
Net earnings (loss) per equivalent Class A share46,56361,90066,412(15,494)
Net earnings (loss) per equivalent Class B share31.0441.2744.27(10.33)
FY 2025FY 2024FY 2023FY 2022
Cash and cash equivalents (Insurance and Other)47,71944,33334,26832,260
Short-term investments in U.S. Treasury Bills321,434286,472129,61992,774
Investments in fixed maturity securities17,81615,36423,75825,128
Investments in equity securities297,778271,588353,842308,793
Equity method investments19,97831,13429,06628,050
Loans and finance receivables29,83627,79824,68123,208
Other receivables44,33143,88746,26143,506
Inventories24,42424,00825,85625,366
Property, plant and equipment (Insurance and Other)31,88530,07130,19921,113
Equipment held for lease18,53517,82816,94715,584
Goodwill (Insurance and Other)55,94556,86057,47351,522
Other intangible assets33,80234,63835,88429,187
Deferred charges - retroactive reinsurance8,1048,7979,4959,870
Other assets (Insurance and Other)24,41324,99421,86619,628
Total Insurance and Other assets976,000917,772839,215725,989
Property, plant and equipment (Railroad, Utilities and Energy)184,740175,030169,447160,268
Goodwill (Railroad, Utilities and Energy)27,12927,02027,15326,597
Cash, receivables and other (Railroad, Utilities and Energy)34,30734,05934,16335,598
Total Railroad, Utilities and Energy assets246,176236,109230,763222,463
Total Assets1,222,1761,153,8811,069,978948,452
Unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses151,761147,594145,729142,887
Unearned insurance premiums31,33930,80830,50728,657
Life, annuity and health insurance benefits17,89017,61620,21322,421
Notes payable and other borrowings (Insurance and Other)45,76344,88548,46846,538
Notes payable and other borrowings (Railroad, Utilities and Energy)83,31879,87779,80376,206
Income taxes, principally deferred86,95585,87093,00977,020
Other liabilities85,44795,57681,47974,106
Total Liabilities502,473502,226499,208467,835
Redeemable noncontrolling interests3,261
Common stock at par value8888
Capital in excess of par value35,61235,66534,48035,167
Retained earnings763,186696,218607,350511,602
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)(2,448)(3,584)(3,763)(6,591)
Treasury stock, at cost(78,939)(78,939)(76,802)(67,826)
Berkshire shareholders' equity717,419649,368561,273472,360
Noncontrolling interests2,2842,2876,2368,257
Total Shareholders' Equity719,703651,655567,509480,617
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity1,222,1761,153,8811,069,978948,452
FY 2025FY 2024FY 2023FY 2022
Net earnings (loss)67,26089,56197,147(21,998)
Investment (gains) losses(39,078)(52,799)(74,855)67,899
Depreciation and amortization13,47612,85512,48610,899
Discount accretion on investments(11,964)(11,349)(5,510)(1,132)
Equity method investment impairment losses10,681
Other operating adjustments3,239(892)(513)(3,074)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net2,355(6,784)20,441(15,244)
Net cash flows from operating activities45,96930,59249,19637,350
Purchases of equity securities(16,923)(9,237)(16,462)(67,930)
Sales of equity securities30,686143,35940,63133,664
Purchases of U.S. Treasury Bills and fixed maturity securities(586,129)(526,842)(235,007)(183,922)
Sales of U.S. Treasury Bills and fixed maturity securities44,76948,46252,30290,088
Redemptions and maturities of U.S. Treasury Bills and fixed maturity securities503,954353,538153,20166,318
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired(1,074)(396)(8,604)(10,594)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment and equipment held for lease(20,927)(18,976)(19,409)(15,464)
Other investing activities1,157(195)685239
Net cash flows from investing activities(44,487)(10,287)(32,663)(87,601)
Net proceeds (repayments) of borrowings2,1481,239(3,494)8,767
Changes in short-term borrowings, net878(3,059)2,407(596)
Acquisitions of treasury stock(2,918)(9,171)(7,854)
Other, principally transactions with noncontrolling interests(793)(5,622)(4,147)(1,979)
Net cash flows from financing activities2,233(10,360)(14,405)(1,662)
Effects of foreign currency exchange rate changes478(212)116(394)
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash4,1939,7332,244(52,307)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of year52,56948,37638,64336,399

Key Metrics & Ratios

MetricValue
Net earnings margin18.0%
Pre-tax margin22.2%
Return on equity9.3%
Return on assets5.5%
Equity-to-assets58.7%
Debt-to-equity0.18x

Margins

Net earnings margin
18.0%
Pre-tax margin
22.2%
Return on equity
9.3%

What Drove the Period

Total revenues were about flat in fiscal 2025 at $371.4B, but net earnings attributable to shareholders fell to $67.0B from $89.0B a year earlier, as lower investment gains ($39.1B versus $52.8B), a $10.7B equity-method impairment and an equity-method loss compressed the bottom line. Berkshire's balance sheet continued to strengthen, with total assets reaching $1.22T and shareholders' equity of $717.4B, backed by $321.4B of short-term U.S. Treasury Bills and a $297.8B equity-securities portfolio. Operating cash flow of $46.0B and modest leverage (roughly 0.18x debt-to-equity) underscore the group's conservative capitalization.

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Figures compiled from public company filings.

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