Catenaa, Monday, October 03, 2025- Berkshire Hathaway profits rose by 17% in the last quarter due to paper investment gains as CEO Warren Buffett prepares to retire.
Berkshire said its revenue only grew about 2% to $94.972 billion during the quarter as some of its businesses performed better than others.
The company earned $30.796 billion, or $21,413 per Class A share, in the quarter. That’s up from last year’s $26.251 billion, or $18,272 per A share.
But those bottom-line figures are always distorted by the current value of Berkshire’s massive investment portfolio and any stock sales, which this year added $17.3 billion to the company’s profits.
Berkshire Hathaway stock rose by 1% on Monday.
But last month’s $9.7 billion investment in OxyChem won’t do much to diminish the $381.7 billion cash pile that Berkshire was sitting on at the end of September, even though it is the biggest deal the company has made in years.
The biggest thing on most investors’ minds right now is that Buffett Vice Chair Greg Abel is set to succeed him as CEO in January, although Buffett will remain chairman at Berkshire.
Berkshire’s operating profit jumped to $13.485 billion, or $9376.15 per Class A share, thanks to a strong rebound in its insurance companies. A year ago, Berkshire reported operating earnings of $10.09 billion, or $7,023.01 per Class A share.
The Class A stock is well off its peak of $812,855, set just before Buffett surprised shareholders at the annual meeting in May by announcing he would step back.
Most of Berkshire’s other companies performed well in the quarter, although profits did decline nearly 9% at its utilities to $1.489 billion, and Berkshire called out some weakness in its retail businesses because of the economic uncertainty and weaker consumer confidence.
