Source: Dreamstime
Reading time: 2 minutes
The legendary company said it had spent a whopping $27 billion on share repurchases throughout 2021. Over the past year, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares have provided investors with a total return of 23.2%, outperforming the US500’s total return of 9.3%
Financial performance for Q4 2021
“Through Berkshire, our shareholders own many dozens of businesses. . . . Nevertheless, operations of our “Big Four” companies account for a very large chunk of Berkshire’s value.”
Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO
Overall, the company has managed to beat analyst expectations across the board. Here’s how Berkshire Hathaway did for the period:
– Total revenue: $112.9 billion (up 9.1% year over year), or 33.1% higher than expected
– Net income: $32.4 billion (up 5% year over year)
– Operating income: $7.3 billion (yearly growth of 45.1%), or 15.9% higher than expected
– Earnings from Berkshire’s railroad, utilities and energy business: up 12.3% year over year ($2.24 billion)
– Share repurchases: for the period, Berkshire spent approximately $6.9 billion on share repurchases. However, this was somewhat lower than the repurchases of $7.6 billion that were made in the previous quarter
Financial outlook for 2022
“Berkshire is constructed to handle catastrophic events as no other insurer—and that priority will remain long after Charlie and I are gone.”
Warren Buffett
On February 26, 2022, Warren Buffett released his annual accompanying letter to shareholders. In it, he explained that, since he found little to no assets that “excite” him in terms of big acquisitions, he is increasingly viewing his share repurchase strategy as the best way to spend Hathaway’s cash at this point in time.
In this letter, Buffett also outlined his “Four Giants”: companies and industries that drove most of the revenue in 2021. These giants are:
– The insurance sector
– BNSF (a U.S. railroad company)
– Berkshire Hathaway Energy
With that in mind, while the multinational conglomerate company hasn’t released an official forward-looking statement, it is likely that Warren Buffett’s business strategy for 2022 will at least to some extent revolve around the ‘Big Four”.
Upcoming reports
See the full list of upcoming earnings reports for 7th – 11th March 2022 in the tables below.
Tuesday, 8th March 2022
| Country | Company | Fiscal period |
|---|---|---|
| United States | ABM Industries Inc | Q1 2022 |
| United States | Oracle Corp | Q3 2022 |
| Mexico | Fresnillo PLC | Full Year 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Ashtead Group PLC | Q3 2022 |
| Spain | Industria de Diseno Textil SA | Full Year 2021 |
Wednesday, 9th March 2022
| Country | Company | Fiscal period |
|---|---|---|
| France | Vivendi SE | Full Year 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Go-Ahead Group PLC | Half Year 2022 |
| Germany | Continental AG | Q4 2021 |
| Germany | Brenntag SE | Q4 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Prudential PLC | Full Year 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Legal & General Group PLC | Full Year 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Tullow Oil PLC | Full Year 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Kier Group PLC | Half Year 2022 |
| Belgium | AGFA Gevaert NV | Q4 2021 |
| Germany | Adidas AG | Full Year 2021 |
| Germany | Deutsche Post AG | Q4 2021 |
Thursday, 3rd March 2022
| Country | Company | Fiscal period |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Rivian Automotive Inc | Q4 2021 |
| Belgium | Groep Brussel Lambert NV | Q4 2021 |
| China | JD.Com Inc | Q4 2021 |
| Germany | Hannover Rueck SE | Full Year 2021 |
| United Kingdom | Capita PLC | Full Year 2021 |
| Germany | Hugo Boss AG | Full Year 2021 |
| Kingdom of the Netherlands | Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster NV | Full Year 2021 |
| Germany | K&S AG | Full Year 2021 |
Friday, 11th March 2022
| Country | Company | Fiscal period |
|---|---|---|
| France | EssilorLuxottica SA | Full Year 2021 |
| Germany | Deutsche Bank AG | Q4 2021 |
| Germany | Lanxess AG | Full Year 2021 |
***
Wish to trade on the global markets? Open a demo account in Delta Trading and test your best strategies in a real market environment, without any risk of losing real funds.
