國際時事跟讀VIP Ep. L165: 獲利暴跌三成，股神最終章 Profits Plunge 30% in Buffett's Final Act

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國際時事跟讀VIP Ep. L165: Profits Plunge 30% in Buffett's Final Act

Highlights 主題摘要

• Berkshire's Q4 operating earnings fell 30% to $10.2 billion, with insurance underwriting profits plunging 54% in Buffett's last quarter.
• The conglomerate took $8.26 billion in combined writedowns on Occidental Petroleum and Kraft Heinz throughout 2025.
• New CEO Greg Abel inherits a record $373.3 billion cash reserve, pledging disciplined deployment for future acquisitions.

Berkshire Hathaway closed the book on Warren Buffett's legendary tenure as CEO with a bruising fourth-quarter earnings report. Operating profit tumbled 30% year over year to $10.2 billion, driven largely by a sharp deterioration in the conglomerate's insurance operations. Insurance underwriting income dropped 54% to $1.56 billion, while investment income slid nearly 25% to $3.1 billion as falling interest rates eroded returns on Berkshire's massive cash holdings. The quarter also marked the 13th consecutive period in which Berkshire sold more stocks than it bought and the sixth straight with no share buybacks.

波克夏海瑟威以一份沉重的第四季財報，為巴菲特傳奇的執行長生涯畫下句點。營業利益年減30%至102億美元，主要受到集團保險業務急遽惡化拖累。保險承保收入暴跌54%至15.6億美元，投資收入也下滑近25%至31億美元，原因是利率走低壓縮了波克夏龐大現金部位的收益表現。值得注意的是，這一季同時也是波克夏連續第13季賣超股票，以及連續第6季未實施庫藏股回購。

The pain extended beyond insurance. Berkshire absorbed a $4.5 billion impairment charge on its 26.9% stake in Occidental Petroleum, acknowledging that the oil giant's stock decline was no temporary setback. Combined with an earlier $3.76 billion writedown on Kraft Heinz, total impairments reached $8.26 billion in 2025. Consumer-facing businesses also struggled amid sluggish demand, with household names like Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, and Squishmallows maker Jazwares all posting full-year revenue declines. Berkshire's energy operations saw profits dip 5%, though its BNSF railroad gained 6%.

衝擊不僅止於保險業務。波克夏對其持有26.9%股權的西方石油認列高達45億美元的資產減損，等於承認這家石油巨擘的股價下挫並非一時現象。加上年初對卡夫亨氏投資已提列的37.6億美元減記，2025年全年減損總額高達82.6億美元。此外，消費性事業同樣承壓，在終端需求疲弱之下，金頂電池、鮮果布衣（Fruit of the Loom）及Squishmallows製造商Jazwares的全年營收均出現衰退。旗下能源事業獲利也下滑5%，唯BNSF鐵路受惠於營運效率改善，獲利逆勢成長6%。

Yet beneath the grim figures, Berkshire's resilience tells a compelling story. Full-year operating earnings of $44.49 billion, though down from $47.44 billion in 2024, still exceeded the five-year average of $37.5 billion. Insurance float climbed to $176 billion, and operating cash flow surged to $46 billion — well above the five-year average of $40 billion. Most notably, the conglomerate ended 2025 atop a colossal $373.3 billion war chest of cash, representing dry powder that new leadership has pledged to deploy strategically.

然而，撥開低迷的帳面數字，波克夏的體質依然穩健。全年營業利益444.9億美元雖不及2024年的474.4億美元，但仍優於過去五年平均的375億美元。保險浮存金攀升至1,760億美元，營運現金流更躍升至460億美元，遠高於五年均值400億美元。更值得關注的是，集團在2025年底坐擁高達3,733億美元的龐大現金儲備，新領導層已承諾這筆「彈藥」將用於進行戰略性部署。

The succession from Buffett to Greg Abel now occupies center stage. Abel has vowed to uphold the legendary investor's framework of disciplined capital allocation and patient investing, even as Berkshire's shares have lagged the S&P 500 by over 27 percentage points since the handover announcement last May. At roughly 1.5 times book value and 23 times operating earnings, the stock appears reasonably priced for a company commanding unmatched financial firepower. In an era of elevated market valuations and mounting macroeconomic uncertainty, Berkshire's fortress balance sheet and diversified earnings streams may prove to be its greatest competitive advantage as Abel charts the path forward.

從巴菲特到葛瑞格．亞伯的接班布局，如今正式成為市場關注焦點。亞伯承諾將延續「股神」長期奉行的紀律型資本配置與價值投資哲學，儘管自去年五月宣布交棒以來，波克夏股價表現已落後標普500指數逾27個百分點。目前股價約為帳面價值的1.5倍、營業利益的23倍，對一家坐擁無可匹敵財務實力的企業來說，估值尚屬合理。在整體市場估值偏高、總經前景充滿變數的當下，波克夏的堡壘級資產負債表搭配多元化的獲利來源，很可能正是亞伯開創新局最有力的競爭武器。

Keyword Drills 關鍵字

1. Deterioration [noun, a decline in quality or condition]: Operating profit tumbled 30%, driven by a sharp deterioration in the conglomerate's insurance operations.
2. Underwriting [noun, the process of assessing and assuming insurance risk]: Insurance underwriting income dropped 54% to $1.56 billion.
3. Impairment [noun, a reduction in the recognized value of an asset]: Berkshire absorbed a $4.5 billion impairment charge on its 26.9% stake in Occidental Petroleum.
4. Compelling [adjective, evoking strong interest or convincing appeal]: Yet beneath the grim figures, Berkshire's resilience tells a compelling story.
5. Succession [noun, the transfer of power or position to a new leader]: The succession from Buffett to Greg Abel now occupies center stage.

Reference article:
1. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/berkshire-hathaway-profit-falls-writedowns-lower-insurance-income-2026-02-28/
2. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/berkshire-hathaway-stock-dips-time-220100497.html