Berkshire Hathaway Reports 18% Gain in Operating Profit, With Its Cash Pile at Record $149 Billion
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway saw an 18% gain in after-tax operating profit in the third quarter, up to $6.47 billion from $5.48 billion in the same quarter last year, CNBC reports. The continuous recovery of railroad, utilities and energy businesses has contributed to the growth, and the company's cash pile sat at an all-time high of $149.2 billion in September, up from $144.1 billion in the second quarter, despite Berkshire's aggressive share buybacks. In the third quarter, Berkshire bought back $7.6 billion of its own stock for a total of $20.2 billion in a nine-month period. Last year, the company purchased a record $24.7 billion of its own stock. Operating earnings from Berkshire's railroad, utilities and energy segment increased 11% year over year to $3.03 billion in the third quarter. Related: Want to Become a Millionaire? Follow Warren Buffett's 4 Rules. “Beginning in the third quarter of 2020, many of our businesses experienced significantly high