Lower tax rate fuels record profit for Buffett's
Berkshire
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[February 24, 2018]
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> on Saturday reported a record quarterly and annual
profit, benefiting from a lower U.S. corporate income tax rate.
Fourth-quarter net income increased roughly fivefold to $32.55 billion,
or $19,790 per Class A share, from $6.29 billion, or $3,823 per share, a
year earlier. Quarterly operating profit for the Omaha, Nebraska-based
conglomerate fell 24 percent to $3.34 billion from $4.38 billion.
Berkshire attributed roughly $29.11 billion of its net income to the
reduction of the U.S. corporate tax rate, to 21 percent from 35 percent,
that President Donald Trump signed into law in December.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Feb/24/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
Book value per Class A share, which reflects assets minus liabilities
and which Buffett considers a good yardstick for Berkshire's intrinsic
worth, was $211,750 at the end of the year, up 13 percent from three
months earlier.
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![](../images/022418pics/busine85.jpg)
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett talks to reporters prior to
the Berkshire annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 2, 2015.
REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Feb/24/images/ads/current/fcs_funeral_lda082613.png)
This also benefited from the tax law change. For all of 2017, Berkshire's net
income rose 87 percent to $44.94 billion. Operating profit, however, fell 18
percent to $14.46 billion, hurt by a rare loss from insurance underwriting.
Berkshire's Class A shares closed at $304,020.01 on Friday, and its Class B
shares closed at $202.76. Both are up a little over 2 percent this year, but are
down nearly 7 percent from their record highs set on Jan. 29.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Mark Potter)
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