On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) reported results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 showing that net income attributable to shareholders fell from $88,995 million in 2024 to $66,968 million for the year. The release came amid investor focus on the new CEO Greg Abel‘s first letter and what a post-Warren Buffett This era could mean deploying more than $300 billion in cash.
Greg Abel’s leadership ushers in a new era
Saturday’s publication also served as a handover moment: Greg Abel is now the CEO, and the annual shareholder letter arrives without Buffett’s signature for the first time in decades. The market’s attention has been on whether Abel outlines a different playbook for Berkshire’s cash-rich balance sheet, including the possibility of new deals, new stock purchases or even a change in dividend policy.
How fluctuations in investments affect profits
According to the earnings report, the company’s 2025 net income included $30,737 million in investment gains, compared to $41,558 million in 2024, and it also recorded other-than-temporary impairment charges related to Kraft Heinz and Occidental totaling $8,255 million for the year. In the fourth quarter alone, these impairment losses amounted to $4,495 million, a key factor separating operating performance from reported net results.
Berkshire also made clear how the accounting treatment affected the investment line: unrealized gains contributed $9.6 billion in the quarter and $12.9 billion for the year, while 2024 included a full-year unrealized loss of $38.1 billion. Realized profit after tax was $3.9 billion in the quarter and $17.8 billion in 2025, compared to $79.6 billion in 2024.
As Berkshirehathaway noted, the company warned that quarter-over-quarter changes in investment earnings could distort per-share figures for investors who don’t follow accounting mechanisms. Net income per average equivalent share of Class A was $46,563 for 2025 versus $61,900 in 2024, and Class B was $31.04 versus $41.27.
Insurance sector records record performance in third quarter
Insurance sector: a key performance indicator
Operating results showed that insurance continued to make an important contribution, although insurance profitability cooled compared to the previous year. Underwriting profit was $1,561 million in the fourth quarter versus $3,409 million in 2024, and $7,258 million for the year versus $9,020 million, as noted in the report.
Insurance investment income also fell, down $3,072 million in the quarter compared to $4,088 million a year earlier, and $12,513 million for 2025 versus $13,670 million. The outlook highlighted the insurance segment as a key item to watch, after Berkshire previously highlighted a 34% year-over-year increase in operating profit in the third quarter, driven by stronger underwriting profits.
Elsewhere in the operating lineup, BNSF posted $1,347 million in fourth-quarter revenue and $5,476 million for the year, while Berkshire Hathaway Energy posted $691 million for the quarter and $3,979 million for 2025. Manufacturing, service and retail contributed $3,370 million in the quarter and $13,647 million for the year.
The company also disclosed that its insurance inventory was approximately $176 billion at December 31, 2025, approximately $5 billion more than at the end of 2024. At year end, shares outstanding amounted to 1,438,223 Class A equivalent shares, with Class B equivalent share amounts defined as 1/1,500th of the Class A figures.
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