Buffett's Berkshire posts $21 billion profit as stocks gain

Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway on Saturday swung to a big quarterly profit, bolstered by gains in its stock investments, and also posted a small increase in operating earnings.

The $21.66 billion overall profit, or $13,209 per Class A share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $1.14 billion, or $692 per share, and a fourth-quarter net loss of $25.39 billion.

These results illustrate what Buffett has called the "wild and capricious" and, in his view, meaningless swings caused by an accounting rule requiring the reporting of unrealized stock gains with earnings, regardless of Berkshire's plans to sell.

Berkshire said operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure, rose 5 percent to $5.56 billion. Operating profit was $5.29 billion, or $3,215 per share, a year earlier.

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