Berkshire’s Insurance Slump and Key Takeaways From Its Results
- Operating earnings slide while stock gains lift net income
- BNSF railroad posts profit jump; Kraft Heinz’s results absent
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For all its many businesses, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. can still swing on the insurance operations that built it.
The company’s operating earnings fell in the second quarter as underwriting income at Berkshire’s insurers dropped by almost 63% to $353 million. Berkshire’s reinsurance unit swung to a pretax loss in the period while auto insurer Geico saw a jump in the average severity of its claims.