The property/casualty insurance industry is having an outstanding year, and GEICO is leading the pack with growth far above its peers. Here again, caution makes sense. The industry’s profitability is sure to decline next year – substantially in all probability – and Berkshire’s insurers will not be immune from industry trends. We do expect, however, that our insurance results will usually outpace those of the industry and that our long-term advantage could be significant.
Overall, our non-insurance operations are doing well. Particular progress has been made at NetJets, whose year-over-year improvement in pre-tax earnings was $58 million in the third quarter and $119 million for the nine months.
Berkshire's operating earnings totaled $2.6 billion in the third quarter compared with $189 million in the year-earlier period. Operating earnings exclude investment gains from Berkshire's huge stock portfolio. Warren Buffett says that the figures better reflect the trends and health of Berkshire's businesses.
In recent weeks, Berkshire's Class A shares have closed above $100,000 and on Friday, were up $894 a share, or 0.9%, to close at $105,000.