Berkshire Hathaway reported a significant decline in operating earnings for the fourth quarter of 2025, with earnings from operations totaling $10.2 billion, a drop of over 29% from $14.56 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. This downturn was primarily attributed to a decline in the company's insurance business. Underwriting profits in insurance fell 54% to $1.56 billion, down from $3.41 billion in Q4 2024, while investment income from insurance also decreased by nearly 25%.
For the entire year of 2025, operating earnings amounted to $44.49 billion, down from $47.44 billion in 2024. Full-year profits from insurance underwriting dropped to $7.26 billion from $9 billion the previous year, with investment income also decreasing.
Despite these declines, overall earnings, which include gains or losses from stock market investments, decreased slightly in Q4 from $19.7 billion to $19.2 billion. The results were affected by a $4.5 billion impairment related to investments in Kraft Heinz and Occidental Petroleum. For the full year, overall earnings fell to $66.97 billion from $89 billion.
Buffett chose not to repurchase Berkshire shares, and the company's cash reserves declined slightly to $373.3 billion. In 2025, Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares gained 10%, underperforming compared to the S&P 500's 16.4% rise. However, Buffett noted that since 1965, Berkshire has achieved compounded annual gains of 19.7%, significantly outpacing the S&P 500's growth.