Berkshire Hathaway reported lower operating earnings for 2025, thanks in large part to a slip in its insurance underwriting profit.
For 2025, net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders fell to US$66.97 billion from US$88.99 billion in 2024, driven by the insurance fall, a lower level of investment gains and new impairment charges on key equity holdings. Operating earnings declined to US$44.49 billion from US$47.44 billion a year earlier.
Net earnings per equivalent Class A share were US$46,563 for 2025, down from US$61,900 in 2024. Net earnings per equivalent Class B share were US$31.04, compared with US$41.27 in the prior year.
For Q4, net income attributable to shareholders was US$19.20 billion, little changed from US$19.69 billion in the same period of 2024. That headline figure was heavily influenced by swings in the value of Berkshire's large equity portfolio.
In 2025, investment gains included changes in unrealised equity gains of US$12.9 billion for the full year, including US$9.6 billion in Q4, plus after‑tax realised gains on sales of US$17.8 billion for the year. That compared with unrealised gains of US$2.1 billion in Q4 but unrealised losses of US$38.1 billion for full‑year 2024, alongside realised gains of US$79.6 billion for that year.
On the insurance front, the company's insurance underwriting profit was US$7.26 billion for 2025, down from US$9.02 billion in 2024. Insurance investment income also declined to US$12.51 billion from US$13.67 billion despite a higher interest‑rate environment.
As of 31 December 2025, Berkshire reported an insurance float of about US$176 billion, up US$5 billion from year‑end 2024.
Berkshire's 2025 performance sits within a broader pattern seen across major US insurers and diversified financial groups – solid capitalisation and investment, but pressure on underlying earnings from claims inflation, one‑off charges and business‑mix shifts.
Among large property and casualty carriers, Chubb, Travelers and The Hartford all reported full‑year 2025 results that generally showed strong or improved underwriting margins in commercial lines, helped by several years of rate firming and tighter terms. Personal lines writers, including Allstate and a number of regional carriers, continued to work through elevated motor and homeowners’ loss costs, although rate increases and underwriting actions begun in 2023–24 started to show through in better combined ratios in H2 2025.
Against that backdrop, Berkshire's insurance businesses remain competitive but not outliers – its 2025 underwriting profit and investment income were strong by historical standards, but both were down year on year, while some peers managed to grow underwriting profit off a weaker base. Berkshire's differentiator continues to be the sheer scale and stability of its float and balance sheet, rather than posting the lowest combined ratio in any given year.
In managed care, groups such as UnitedHealth and Elevance Health reported 2025 results that remained profitable overall but were dented by higher medical costs. In UnitedHealth's case, performance was affected by large charges tied to the Change Healthcare cyberattack. In parallel, Berkshire combined very large absolute profits with notable earnings volatility and discrete charges in 2025, yet rating agencies continue to view the organisation as strongly capitalised.
Measured against diversified conglomerates and big‑tech peers with significant financial and industrial operations, Berkshire’s modest decline in operating earnings contrasts with the double‑digit profit growth reported in 2025 by some large platform companies in sectors such as cloud, digital advertising, logistics and aerospace.
However, Berkshire’s US$44.49 billion of operating earnings, US$176 billion of float and 8.7% investment return still leave it among the most financially resilient large US groups, even in a year when its preferred earnings measure stepped down.
