Berkshire shares rose 1% as operating earnings surge 71% in fourth quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway on Saturday reported a massive surge in fourth-quarter earnings from its operating businesses, driven in large part by insurance, while its cash holdings swelled to record levels.

The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate said its operating profit — which encompasses earnings from the company’s wholly owned businesses — skyrocketed 71% to $14.527 billion during the final three months of 2024. That was led by by a whopping 302% jump in insurance underwriting from the year-earlier period to $3.409 billion. Insurance investment income also ballooned by nearly 50% to $4.088 billion.

Operating earnings also popped 27% for the full year, coming in at $47.437 billion.

“In 2024, Berkshire did better than I expected though 53% of our 189 operating businesses reported a decline in earnings. We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly-liquid short-term securities,” Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire, said in his annual letter to shareholders. “Our insurance business also delivered a major increase in earnings, led by the performance of GEICO.”

To be sure, Berkshire warned that the wildfires that broke out in Southern California will lead to an estimated pre-tax loss of about $1.3 billion for its insurance business.