Q3 2026 and first nine months 2026
Filed Nov 9, 2026Filed under $BRK-ABerkshire Q3 2026 operating earnings $12,705 million vs $13,485 million; net earnings $22,112 million vs $30,796 million
Q3 operating earnings and net earnings both declined year over year as printed, while nine-month operating earnings ($37,034 million vs $34,286 million) and nine-month net earnings ($57,885 million vs $47,769 million) rose. Net earnings swing heavily on investment gains, which the company says are not indicative of quarterly business performance.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders, Q3 2026GAAP | $22.11B | – | – |
| Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders, nine months 2026GAAP | $57.88B | – | – |
| Operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $12.71B | – | – |
| Operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $37.03B | – | – |
| Investment gains (losses), Q3 2026GAAP | $9.41B | – | – |
| Investment gains (losses), nine months 2026GAAP | $20.85B | – | – |
| Other-than-temporary impairment of investment in Kraft Heinz, nine months 2025GAAP | −$3.76B | – | – |
| Net earnings per average equivalent Class A share, Q3 2026GAAP | $15,502 | – | – |
| Net earnings per average equivalent Class A share, nine months 2026GAAP | $40,377 | – | – |
| Net earnings per average equivalent Class B share, Q3 2026GAAP | $10.33 | – | – |
| Net earnings per average equivalent Class B share, nine months 2026GAAP | $26.92 | – | – |
| Investment gains from changes in unrealized gains on equity securities, Q3 2026GAAP | $7.7B | – | – |
| Investment gains from changes in unrealized gains on equity securities, nine months 2026GAAP | $11.6B | – | – |
| After-tax realized gains on sales of investments, Q3 2026GAAP | $1.7B | – | – |
| After-tax realized gains on sales of investments, nine months 2026GAAP | $9.3B | – | – |
| Insurance - underwriting operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $1.35B | – | – |
| Insurance - underwriting operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $4.8B | – | – |
| Insurance - investment income operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $2.73B | – | – |
| Insurance - investment income operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $8.47B | – | – |
| BNSF operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $1.73B | – | – |
| BNSF operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $4.66B | – | – |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $1.61B | – | – |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $3.62B | – | – |
| Manufacturing, service and retailing operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $4.04B | – | – |
| Manufacturing, service and retailing operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $11.71B | – | – |
| Other operating earnings, Q3 2026non-GAAP | $1.24B | – | – |
| Other operating earnings, nine months 2026non-GAAP | $3.77B | – | – |
| Foreign currency exchange result within Other, Q3 2026other | losses of $343 million | – | – |
| Foreign currency exchange result within Other, nine months 2026other | gains of $232 million | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance - underwritingOperating earnings line as printed. The release gives no explanation for the change. | $1,352 million (operating earnings, Q3 2026; prior-year Q3 $2,369 million) | – | – |
| Insurance - investment incomeOperating earnings line as printed. The release gives no explanation for the change. | $2,734 million (operating earnings, Q3 2026; prior-year Q3 $3,181 million) | – | – |
| BNSFOperating earnings line as printed. The release gives no explanation for the change. | $1,729 million (operating earnings, Q3 2026; prior-year Q3 $1,449 million) | – | – |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy CompanyOperating earnings line as printed. The release gives no explanation for the change. | $1,612 million (operating earnings, Q3 2026; prior-year Q3 $1,489 million) | – | – |
| Manufacturing, service and retailingOperating earnings line as printed. The release gives no explanation for the change. | $4,042 million (operating earnings, Q3 2026; prior-year Q3 $3,616 million) | – | – |
| OtherPer the release, Other includes foreign currency exchange losses related to non-U.S. Dollar denominated debt of $343 million in Q3 2026. The release says 2025 Q3 included foreign currency exchange gains of $331 million. | $1,236 million (operating earnings, Q3 2026; prior-year Q3 $1,381 million) | – | – |
Amounts quoted below without a unit are in millions, as in the filing’s tables. Per-share figures are as printed.
Capital returns
- Berkshire acquired approximately $9.6 billion in treasury shares during Q3 2026.
- Nine-month 2026 treasury share acquisitions were about $14.4 billion, per the release.
- Class A equivalent shares outstanding on September 30, 2026 were 1,418,900, as printed.
What drove it
- Per the company, investment gains (losses) in 2026 include unrealized gains of $7.7 billion in Q3 and $11.6 billion in the first nine months, under GAAP requirements to include unrealized changes in equity securities in earnings.
- Per the company, 2026 investment gains also include after-tax realized gains on sales of investments of $1.7 billion in Q3 and $9.3 billion in the first nine months.
- Per the company, Other includes foreign currency exchange losses of $343 million in Q3 2026 related to non-U.S. Dollar denominated debt, and gains of $232 million in the first nine months of 2026.
- The company states that investment gains or losses in any given quarter are usually meaningless for assessing business performance.
Concerns
- Q3 2026 operating earnings were $12,705 million against $13,485 million a year earlier, and Insurance underwriting fell to $1,352 million from $2,369 million.
- Insurance investment income operating earnings were $2,734 million in Q3 2026 against $3,181 million, and $8,472 million for nine months against $9,441 million.
- Q3 2026 net earnings of $22,112 million compare with $30,796 million, driven by a smaller investment gains line of $9,407 million against $17,311 million.
- Nine-month 2025 included an other-than-temporary impairment of the Kraft Heinz investment of $(3,760) million, and no such impairment is printed for 2026.
- The company itself cautions that the release is not adequate for an informed investment judgment and asks readers to consult the 10-Q, which is not included in the material provided.
What to watch
- Insurance underwriting and investment income operating earnings, given their year-over-year declines in Q3 2026.
- Unrealized and realized investment gains in future quarters, which the release identifies as the main source of net earnings volatility.
- Foreign currency exchange results within Other, which swung from gains in Q3 2025 to losses in Q3 2026.
- Treasury share repurchases, which reached about $9.6 billion in Q3 2026 and about $14.4 billion for nine months.
- Insurance float growth, which the release puts at approximately $178.5 billion.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Insurance float (net liabilities assumed under insurance contracts) at September 30, 2026 was approximately $178.5 billion.
- The release states float increased approximately $2.1 billion since yearend 2025.
- No cash flow statement, cash balance, debt, total assets or equity figures are printed in the release.
Analysis
Berkshire's Q3 2026 release shows a split picture. Operating earnings, which the company defines as net earnings exclusive of investment gains (losses), impairments of goodwill and intangible assets, and other-than-temporary impairments of equity method investments, were $12,705 million in Q3 2026 against $13,485 million in Q3 2025. For the first nine months, operating earnings rose to $37,034 million from $34,286 million. The quarterly decline sits mainly in the insurance lines, where underwriting fell to $1,352 million from $2,369 million and investment income fell to $2,734 million from $3,181 million. Within the same quarter, BNSF ($1,729 million vs $1,449 million), Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company ($1,612 million vs $1,489 million) and Manufacturing, service and retailing ($4,042 million vs $3,616 million) each printed higher operating earnings than in Q3 2025. Other printed $1,236 million against $1,381 million.
Net earnings attributable to Berkshire shareholders were $22,112 million in Q3 2026 against $30,796 million a year earlier, and $57,885 million for nine months against $47,769 million. The release attributes the difference largely to investment gains (losses), which were $9,407 million in Q3 2026 and $17,311 million in Q3 2025. Of the Q3 2026 figure, the release says unrealized gains were $7.7 billion and after-tax realized gains were $1.7 billion. For Q3 2025 it reports unrealized gains of $9.2 billion and realized gains of $8.1 billion. Nine-month 2026 investment gains were $20,851 million, with unrealized gains of $11.6 billion and realized gains of $9.3 billion, against $17,243 million in the first nine months of 2025, which included a $(3,760) million Kraft Heinz impairment.
Per-share results follow the same pattern. Net earnings per average equivalent Class A share were $15,502 in Q3 2026 against $21,413, and $40,377 for nine months against $33,214. Class B figures were $10.33 against $14.28 for the quarter and $26.92 against $22.14 for nine months. The company states that quarterly investment gains are usually meaningless for judging per-share results.
Capital allocation was active. Berkshire bought approximately $9.6 billion of treasury shares in Q3 2026 and about $14.4 billion over nine months. Insurance float reached approximately $178.5 billion at September 30, 2026, up about $2.1 billion since yearend 2025. The release gives no revenue, cash flow, cash, debt, total asset or equity figures, and it offers no guidance, so the analysis is limited to the operating and investment earnings lines.
The release contains no guidance and no prior-period outlook was supplied, so no guidance comparison is made. The company explicitly asks investors to read the 10-Q for a complete picture, and that filing was not part of the material provided.
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Total revenue and revenue by line: the release contains no income statement or revenue figures.
- Period end date: the release does not state the quarter end date explicitly.
- Prior-quarter (Q2 2026) comparatives and sequential changes: not printed.
- Percentage year-over-year changes for any metric: not printed.
- Guidance, outlook and any prior-period outlook: not provided in the release and no previous outlook was supplied.
- Cash flow from operations and free cash flow: not printed.
- Cash, total debt, total assets and shareholders' equity: not printed.
- Consensus estimates, analyst expectations and share price reaction: not in the documents.
- Kraft Heinz impairment for Q3 2025, Q3 2026 and nine months 2026: printed as a dash, no amount given.
- Full 10-Q filing: referenced by the company but not included in the material provided.
Written by an AI language model from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure is checked against the filing text, and a metric the filing does not print, or whose value, prior period and change do not add up, is dropped from the metrics. The model can still misread a table, in the metrics or in the text, so check a number in the filing before you rely on it. Consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.