Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B delivered first-quarter 2026 operating earnings of $11.3 billion, which increased 17.7% year over year. The increase was due to higher earnings in Insurance-underwriting, BNSF, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, Manufacturing, service and retailing, and Other.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Quote
Behind the Headlines
Revenues rose 4.4% year over year to $93.6 billion due to an increase in revenues in Insurance and Other and Railroad, Utilities, and Energy.
Costs and expenses increased 2.1% year over year to $80 billion, largely driven by a rise in costs and expenses in Insurance and Other and Railroad, Utilities and Energy.
Segment Performance
Berkshire’s Insurance and Other segment revenues increased 4.3% year over year to $81 billion in the reported quarter due to higher Insurance premiums earned, Sales and service revenues, and Leasing revenues.
Insurance underwriting produced operating earnings of $1.7 billion, which increased 30.8% year over year.
Railroad operating revenues rose 5% year over year to $5.9 billion, primarily due to increases in car/unit volume of 2.2% and average revenue per car/unit of 2.8%, resulting from business mix, core pricing gains and higher fuel surcharge revenues from higher fuel prices. Pre-tax earnings increased 13.5% in the first quarter of 2026 to $1.8 billion.
Operating earnings from the Railroad business increased 12.5% year over year to $2 billion.
Total revenues at Manufacturing, Service and Retailing increased 6.5% year over year to $54.8 billion. Pre-tax earnings increased 5.7% year over year to $4.2 billion.
In the first quarter of 2026, after-tax earnings from manufacturing, service and retailing businesses increased 4.5% year over year.
Results among the numerous operations in the quarter were mixed, with overall earnings increases in the manufacturing and service businesses and lower earnings from the retailing businesses.
Financial Position
As of March 31, 2026, consolidated shareholders’ equity was $729.4 billion, up 1.4% from the level as of Dec. 31, 2025. At the end of the quarter, cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash were $58.8 billion, up 37.2% year over year.
Berkshire exited the first quarter of 2026 with a float of about $176.9 billion, which grew $500 million from Dec. 31, 2025.
Cash flow from operating activities totaled $10.4 billion in the reported quarter, down 4.3% from the year-ago period.
Zacks Rank
Berkshire Hathaway currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Performance of Other Insurers
Cincinnati Financial Corporation CINF reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $2.10 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.8%. The bottom line improved significantly, from a loss of 24 cents to $2.10 per share year over year.
Total operating revenues for the quarter were $2.9 billion, reflecting a 12% year-over-year increase, though the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%.
The Progressive Corporation’s PGR first-quarter 2026 earnings per share of $4.96 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.5%. The bottom line increased 6.7% year over year.
Operating revenues grew 8.2% year over year to $22.3 billion, driven by 8% higher net premiums earned, a 12.7% increase in net investment income, a 3.5% rise in fees and other revenues, and 13.5% higher service revenues. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.2%. Net premiums earned grew 8% to $20.9 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.5%.
Selective Insurance Group SIGI reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.69 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line decreased 11% year over year.
Operating revenues of $1.4 billion increased 6.4% from the year-ago quarter’s level, driven primarily by higher net premiums earned and net investment income. The top line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%. Net premiums written decreased 1% to $1.3 billion. The figure was on par with our estimate.
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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (SIGI): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).