(1) Berkshire Hathaway’s operating earnings declined by 11% during the second quarter, primarily as a result of a 63% decline from insurance underwriting.
(2) Berkshire’s cash position increased to $122 billion from $114 billion at the end of the first quarter.
(3) Berkshire currently holds $200 billion in equities.
(4) Berkshire Hathaway reduced its equity securities in “Commercial, industrial, and other” by about $1.5 billion (cost basis) during the second quarter. Its SEC Form 13F will be released after the market closes on August 14 and will reveal what changes were made to its equity portfolio during the second quarter.
(5) Berkshire Hathaway purchased only $440 million of its shares during the second quarter.
David I Kass
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Finance
Ph.D., Harvard University
Robert H. Smith School of Business
4412 Van Munching Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-1815
Phone: 301-405-9683
Email: dkass@rhsmith.umd.edu (link sends e-mail)
Dr. David Kass has published articles in corporate finance, industrial organization, and health economics. He currently teaches Advanced Financial Management and Business Finance, and is the Faculty Champion for the Accelerated Finance Fellows. Prior to joining the faculty of the Smith School in 2004, he held senior positions with the Federal Government (Federal Trade Commission, General Accounting Office, Department of Defense, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis). Dr. Kass has recently appeared on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, PBS Nightly Business Report, Maryland Public Television, Business News Network TV (Canada), Fox TV, American Public Media's Marketplace Radio, and WYPR Radio (Baltimore), and has been quoted on numerous occasions by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal, where he has primarily discussed Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. He has also launched a Smith School “Warren Buffett” blog. Dr. Kass has accompanied MBA students on trips to Omaha for private meetings with Warren Buffett, and Finance Fellows to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings. He is an officer of the Harvard Business School Club of Washington, DC, and is a member of the investment and budget committees of a local nonprofit organization. Dr. Kass received a Smith School “Top 15% Teaching Award” for the 2009-2010 academic year.
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