(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday posted a lower operating profit as the coronavirus pandemic was expected to weigh on some of its businesses, though gains in stocks such as Apple Inc fueled a big quarterly net profit.
Berkshire said operating profit fell 32% to $5.48 billion from $8.07 billion a year earlier.
Net income rose 82% to $30.14 billion, or $18,994 per Class A share, from $16.52 billion, or $10,119 per share, a year earlier.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company said it also repurchased about $9 billion of its stock in the quarter, a record, and has bought back about $16 billion this year.
Berkshire’s share price is lagging the Standard & Poor’s 500 for a second straight year despite outperforming from July to September.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jason Neely)
