Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

This diversified set of operating businesses lends resilience to consolidated operating earnings. At the same time, due to significant concentrated holdings of common stock, BRK's net income and shareholders' equity are prone to market volatility. The pretax investment gains for investment and derivative contracts were $46 billion for the first nine months of 2024 and $75 billion for full-year 2023, compared with a loss of $68 billion in 2022. At the same time, BRK's cash and short-term investments have reached record highs, more than doubling to $325 billion as of third-quarter 2024 from $129 billion at year-end 2022. The outsized growth is largely because of robust retained earnings, somewhat subdued capital allocation activity related to share repurchases and acquisitions, and

...Strong businesses in a variety of sectors provide significant diversification for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK) compared with peers, underlying the group's robust operating performance and cash flow. BRK's businesses are well established and among the leading players in their respective markets--most notably insurance, energy, and railroad operations. The various businesses are exposed to low industry and country risk on a combined basis, albeit with varying degrees of volatility, cyclicality, regulatory risk, and correlation among the segments. This diversified set of operating businesses lends resilience to consolidated operating earnings. At the same time, due to significant concentrated holdings of common stock, BRK's net income and shareholders' equity are prone to market volatility. The pretax investment gains for investment and derivative contracts were $46 billion for the first nine months of 2024 and $75 billion for full-year 2023, compared with a loss of $68 billion in 2022. BRK's...

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