Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. swung to a rare loss in the first quarter, hurt by lower insurance premiums and the impact of an accounting rule change on unrealized investment losses.
Berkshire’s results were released Saturday morning ahead of the company’s widely attended annual meeting in Omaha, Neb.
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Berkshire reported a first-quarter net loss of $1.14 billion, or $692 per Class A share BRK.A, +1.93% equivalent, from $4.06 billion, or $2,469 a share, in the year-earlier period. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, rose to $5.29 billion from $3.56 billion in the year prior.
Buffett cautioned shareholders in his annual letter, which was released in February, that Berkshire’s earnings would appear more volatile starting in 2018 due to a new accounting rule that companies include unrealized investment gains or losses in their net income. Berkshire reported a $6.2 billion drop in investment income in the first quarter.
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