Despite rising recession fears, Warren Buffet continued to buy back his stock even as his company posted a solid gain in operating profits.
In the third quarter, the conglomerate had operating earnings of $7.761 billion, up 20% from a year earlier.
The insurance investment income was up from a year ago. The earnings from the company's utilities and energy businesses were up from a year ago. Railroad earnings went down to $1.442 billion from 1.538 billion in the previous year.
The nine-month total of $5.50 billion was brought about by the $1.05 billion spent in the third quarter. In the second quarter, $1 billion was bought back. CFRA analyst estimated that the total would be similar to the $3.2 billion in the first quarter.
In the third quarter, the company posted a net loss of $2.69 billion, compared to a $10.34 billion gain a year before. The drop in equity investments was the main reason for the quarter's loss.
During the quarter, the company lost $10.1 billion on its investments. The investor said that the amount of investment losses is meaningless.
The S&P 500 has fallen 20% this year, but shares of the conglomerate have risen 4%. In the third quarter, the stock fell.
In the third quarter,Buffett continued to buy the dip in the oil giant as his stake in the company reached 20%. In August, regulatory approval was given to purchase up to 50% of the company, sparking speculation that it may eventually buy all of the company.
At the end of September, the conglomerate had a cash pile of nearly $109 billion, compared to a total of $105.4 billion at the beginning of the year.
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