OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway’s fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled as it received a $29 billion boost from the new tax law that easily offset any weakness in the company’s businesses. Berkshire said Saturday it earned $32.6 billion, or $13.19 per Class B share, in the fourth quarter because of the tax law changes. That compares with $6.3 billion, or $2.55 per B share, a year ago.
Berkshire’s CEO Warren Buffett said investors should pay more attention to operating earnings, which exclude the tax changes and investment values, to get a better sense of how Berkshire’s 90-odd businesses are performing. By that measure, Berkshire reported $3.3 billion operating income, or $2.23 per B share.
The five analysts surveyed by FactSet expected Berkshire to report operating earnings per Class B share of $1.76.
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