Kexilhasawei's operating profit in the first quarter increased by 18%, net profit increased by 120%, and cash reserves reached a record high.

In the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves surged to a historical high of $397 billion. Operating profit increased by about 18% year-on-year, with core sectors such as insurance underwriting, freight rail, and manufacturing services performing well. In the first quarter, Berkshire's operating profit reached $11.346 billion, an increase of about 18% from the same period last year's $9.641 billion. The profit from insurance underwriting increased by nearly 30%, and the "other" sector saw a significant increase in profit from $0.41 billion to $1.26 billion, becoming an important driver of better-than-expected performance this quarter. GAAP net profit increased from $4.603 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to $10.106 billion, mainly due to changes in investment income. Berkshire emphasized in its financial report that net profit figures may fluctuate significantly between quarters due to the need to include unrealized gains and losses on stock holdings in accordance with accounting standards, and are not reliable indicators of performance. As of March 31, 2026, the company's insurance float was approximately $176.9 billion, an increase of about $500 million from the end of 2025. Class A earnings per share were $7,027, while Class B earnings per share were $4.68. According to media reports, as of March 31, 61% of Berkshire Hathaway's stock investments were concentrated in American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Chevron, and Coca-Cola. Its subsidiary, PacifiCorp, estimated potential losses of about $2.9 billion due to wildfires. Insurance and railway sectors lead, with only slight decrease in investment income In the current quarter, among Berkshire's major business sectors, the insurance underwriting sector performed the best, with profits increasing from $1.336 billion in the same period last year to $1.717 billion, an increase of approximately 28%. The after-tax profit of its freight railway subsidiary, BNSF, was $1.377 billion, an increase of about 13% from the first quarter of 2025's $1.214 billion. Berkshire Hathaway Energy's profit increased slightly from $1.097 billion to $1.114 billion. The profit from the manufacturing, service, and retail sector increased from $3.06 billion to $3.199 billion, an increase of about 5%. The insurance investment income was the only sector that saw a slight decline year-on-year, decreasing from $2.893 billion to $2.679 billion, a decrease of about 7%. Foreign exchange gains significantly improved, with the "other" sector showing a significant improvement The profit from the "other" sector increased from $0.41 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to $1.26 billion, becoming an important source of overall operating profit growth. According to the financial report, this sector includes foreign exchange gains of $2.49 billion, while a foreign exchange loss of $0.713 billion was recorded in the same period of 2025, resulting in a favorable difference of approximately $0.962 billion over the two years. In addition, interest and dividend income from U.S. Treasury securities and other related investments increased from $0.869 billion to $0.967 billion, providing additional support. Realized investment income increased significantly, doubling GAAP net profit year-on-year The significant growth in GAAP net profit was mainly driven by realized investment income. This quarter, Berkshire recorded a tax-adjusted realized income of $5.8 billion from investment sales, more than doubling from $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025. The unrealized losses from changes in the valuation of stock holdings in this quarter were about $7 billion, roughly the same as the approximately $7.4 billion in the same period of 2025. Offsetting the realized income, the net loss from investment projects decreased from $5.038 billion to $1.24 billion this quarter, driving a year-on-year increase in GAAP net profit of about 120%. Berkshire emphasizes in its financial report that the investment gains and losses in any single quarter are usually "meaningless," and making investment decisions based on net profit per share data can be "highly misleading" for investors unfamiliar with accounting rules. Steady expansion of insurance float, stable number of shares outstanding As of March 31, 2026, Berkshire's insurance float (the company's net liabilities under insurance contracts) was approximately $176.9 billion, an increase of about $500 million from the end of 2025, continuing its steady growth trend. The float is a core source of Berkshire's long-term low-cost funds, and its increasing scale provides important support for the company's investment operations. During the same period, the company had 1,437,903 outstanding Class A equivalent shares, almost the same as the 1,438,223 shares in the same period last year, with limited share repurchases during the year. This article is reproduced from "Wall Street Seen News", written by Yang Chen, GMTEight editor: Chen Siyu.