(Adds financial details throughout, economic and geopolitical environment, litigation, byline)
By Jonathan Stempel
Nov 4 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday posted its first overall quarterly loss in a year as the prices of Apple and other stocks it owns fell, but said improved results from insurance helped boost operating profit to a record.
Rising interest rates boosted yields on Berkshire’s vast U.S. Treasury bill holdings above 5%, while fewer car accidents and a quiet Atlantic hurricane season respectively bolstered the Geico car insurer and reinsurance businesses.
Berkshire nonetheless signaled it remains cautious about stock valuations and the market environment.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate’s cash stake swelled in the third quarter to a record $157.2 billion, as Berkshire sold $5.3 billion more stocks than it bought and slowed repurchases of its own stock, buying back $1.1 billion.
Berkshire also reported signs of caution among consumers.
It said its BNSF railroad shipped fewer consumer goods, while lower homebuying hurt its namesake real estate brokerage and Clayton Homes unit, and sales of Forest River RVs and apparel from units such as Fruit of the Loom also fell.
Jazwares, a toymaker that makes the popular Squishmallows and which Berkshire bought one year ago, helped offset those declines, generating $469 million of revenue in the quarter.
Investors watch Berkshire closely because its results often reflect broader economic trends, and because of the 93-year-old Buffett’s reputation as one of the world’s greatest investors.
BIG SWINGS
Berkshire’s third-quarter net loss more than quadrupled to $12.77 billion, or $8,824 per Class A share, from $2.8 billion a year earlier.
Results included $23.5 billion of losses from investments, primarily reflecting a 12% decline in the stock price of iPhone maker Apple, in which Berkshire had owned a $177.6 billion stake.
Berkshire’s net results swing widely from quarter to quarter because accounting rules require the company to report investment gains and losses even if it buys and sells…
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