Berkshire Hathaway reported a sharp increase in first-quarter 2026 profit, with higher operating earnings more than offsetting volatility from investment results driven by US accounting rules.
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders rose to $10.1 billion for the first quarter of 2026, up from $4.6 billion in the same period of 2025. Net earnings per average equivalent Class A share climbed to $7,027 from $3,200, while Class B per-share earnings increased to $4.68 from $2.13.
Operating earnings, which exclude unrealized investment gains and losses, increased to $11.3 billion from $9.6 billion, an 18% year-on-year rise that points to a stronger contribution from the group’s underlying businesses.
In the first quarter of 2026, investment gains amounted to a loss of $1.24 billion, compared with a loss of $5.04 billion a year earlier. These figures include approximately $7.0 billion of losses in 2026 and $7.4 billion in 2025 from changes in the amount of unrealized gains embedded in Berkshire’s equity holdings.
After-tax realized gains on sales of investments were $5.8 billion in 2026, up from $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025, partly offsetting the unrealized losses.
Operating earnings rose to $11.35 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from $9.64 billion a year earlier, with improvements across several major segments.
Insurance underwriting income increased to $1.72 billion from $1.34 billion, a rise of roughly 29% year-on-year. The result reflects continued profitability in Berkshire’s primary and reinsurance operations and follows a more challenging 2025, when underwriting was affected by large catastrophe events and a softer fourth quarter.
Insurance investment income was $2.68 billion, slightly below $2.89 billion in the prior-year quarter but still a major contributor to earnings. Because of the size of Berkshire’s insurance portfolio, relatively small shifts in yield or asset mix can produce large dollar movements in this line.
Among non-insurance businesses, BNSF generated earnings of $1.38 billion, up from $1.21 billion, while Berkshire Hathaway Energy contributed $1.11 billion, compared with $1.10 billion a year earlier. Manufacturing, service and retailing businesses produced $3.20 billion, up from $3.06 billion a year earlier.
At March 31, 2026, Berkshire reported insurance float of approximately $176.9 billion, an increase of about $500 million since year-end 2025.
Relative to major US P&C peers, Berkshire’s first-quarter 2026 performance fits within a broader pattern of strong underwriting and investment results, although its earnings profile is more diversified than that of pure-play carriers.
Travelers, for example, reported sharply higher first-quarter 2026 net income on the back of an improved combined ratio and lower catastrophe losses, while AIG’s General Insurance segment delivered stronger underwriting income and higher investment yields. Chubb reported first-quarter P&C underwriting income of around $1.8 billion and a P&C combined ratio near the mid-80s, reinforcing its reputation for underwriting discipline.
The quarter underlines that Berkshire remains a major and stable source of capacity in large-account property-casualty, reinsurance and specialty markets, with the financial flexibility to be selective on terms, attachment points and classes of business as competition intensifies.
