(Boursier.com) — Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm of the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, exceeded analysts’ expectations in the second quarter, benefiting in particular from the strong 39% increase in operating profits, with insurance and rail. However, the group also deplored an impressive quarterly net loss of 43.8 billion dollars, with the fall in value of certain holdings over the period. The conglomerate nevertheless managed to generate a positive operating profit of 9.3 billion dollars, with BNSF and reinsurance, and despite the difficulties of Geico (motor insurance). The group still has a generous war chest of over $105 billion to invest. It has slowed stock purchases, including its own shares. Net income sank into the red, with a massive $53 billion loss on investments and derivatives. The declines of the titles American Express, Bank of America and especially Applehave therefore sealed the accounts.
Despite everything, the group displays its resilience from an operational point of view. Warren Buffett asked investors to ignore the fluctuations, while the second quarter had been generally catastrophic on Wall Street. In the first quarter of 2020, Berkshire had already lost $ 50 billion with the plunge in certain holdings due to the pandemic, but the group had managed, over the whole year, to generate more than 42 billion in profits.
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