Berkshire Hathaway 3Q-2014 Earnings

Berkshire Hathaway released their 3rd Quarter earnings report this afternoon.

Summary & Commentary:

Berkshire third-quarter profit drops on investments, operating results gain (Chicago Tribune)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Friday third-quarter profit fell 9 percent as it took a large writeoff on one of its investments, but operating results easily topped forecasts on improvement in its insurance, energy and railroad operations.

Net income slipped to $4.62 billion, or $2,811 per Class A share in the third quarter, from $5.05 billion, or $3,074 per Class A share, a year earlier.

Operating profit, however, rose 29 percent to $4.72 billion, or $2,876 per Class A share, from $3.66 billion, or $2,228 per Class A share. [...]

During the quarter, Berkshire wrote off $678 million on its investment in Tesco Plc , a British grocery chain being probed by regulators at home over accounting errors. Buffett has been reducing Berkshire's Tesco stake. [...]

Profit from the BNSF railroad rose about 5 percent to $1.035 billion. In utilities and energy, profit jumped to $697 million from $472 million. [...]

Book value per Class A share, Buffett's preferred measure of growth, rose 7.1 percent from the start of the year to $144,542.

Berkshire's cash stake soared during the quarter to $62.38 billion from $55.46 billion three months earlier.