Berkshire’soperating results for the first quarters of 2025 and 2024 are summarised in the following paragraphs. However, we urge investors and reporters to read our 10-Q, which has been posted at www.berkshirehathaway.com. The limited information that follows in this press release is not adequate for making an informed investment judgment.
Earnings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries for the first quarters of 2025 and 2024 are summarised below. Earnings are stated on an after-tax basis. (Dollar amounts are in millions, except for per share amounts.)
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) require that we include the changes in unrealised gains/losses of our equity security investments as a component of investment gains (losses) in our earnings statements. In the table above, investment gains (losses) include losses of approximately $7.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025 and $9.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024 due to changes during the first quarters of 2025 and 2024 in the amount of unrealised gains that existed in our equity security investment holdings. Investment gains (losses) also include after-tax realised gains on sales of investments of $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025 and $11.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
The amount of investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading to investors who have little or no knowledge of accounting rules.
On March 31, 2025, there were 1,438,223 Class A equivalent shares outstanding. At March 31, 2025, insurance float (the net liabilities we assume under insurance contracts) was approximately $173 billion, an increase of $2 billion since yearend 2024.