Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway’s operating earnings declined 6.2% to $44,$486M in FY2025, driven by a 19.5% drop in insurance underwriting profit that included $860M in California wildfire charges and a $1.7B FX swing from gains to losses. Core non-insurance businesses showed broad improvement: BNSF operating margin expanded 250 basis points to move from 5th to 4th among Class I railroads, BHE earnings grew 6.7%, and manufacturing and services grew 4.4%. Greg Abel’s first annual meeting as CEO centered on a technology transformation initiative spreading from GEICO to BNSF and BHE, patient capital deployment with cash at $380B, and the insurance market softening as 19 months without a US hurricane landfall drew new competition.