Headline–confidence gap
Mixed evidence
The headline and management signals do not point in one direction (confidence rising).
BRK.B · Q3 2026
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
31EarnIQ signal
↗
Confidence rising
Moderate quarter-over-quarter shiftBerkshire's core operating earnings showed solid growth, supported by steady performance across non-insurance business segments.
- ✓Guidance was none, with low specificity.
- ✓Management tone registered as confident (85/100).
- ✓EarnIQ detected 0 potential management deflections.
EPS: reported vs expected—— vs —
Revenue: reported vs expected—— vs —
Guidance specificityLowChange not comparable
Market expectations are being matched to this report.
The amount of investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading to investors.
Premium intelligence
The evidence behind the signal
Management language
Why confidence moved
“The limited information that follows in this press release is not adequate for making an informed investment judgment.”
“Berkshire presents its results in the way it believes will be most meaningful and useful, as well as most transparent, to the investing public and others who use Berkshire’s financial information.”
“The amount of investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading to investors who have little or no knowledge of accounting rules.”
Guidance specificity
10/100
Low specificity
No explicit forward-looking quantitative guidance was provided in the earnings release.
Pressure point
Volatility in investment gains and
0 potential deflections detected in management communication.
Narrative break
What changed
No material narrative break was detected this quarter.
Q&A evidence
Management responses
No material Q&A deflections were detected.
Key positives
- Operating earnings grew to $12,983 million in the second quarter of 2026 compared to $11,160 million in the second quarter of 2025.
- Strong performance across manufacturing, service, retailing, BNSF, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company segments.
- Insurance float increased to approximately $177.5 billion at June 30, 2026.
Key risks
- Volatility in investment gains and losses driven by changes in unrealized equity security holdings under GAAP accounting.
- Fluctuations in insurance-underwriting results and insurance-investment income.
- Foreign currency exchange volatility related to non-U.S. Dollar denominated debt.
Topic velocity
Language versus prior quarter
M&ANew
CostNew
ChinaNew
MarginNew
RecordNew
iPhoneNew
Signal composition
What drove the EarnIQ score
Tone+20
Eps Beat+0
Guidance+3
New Signal+0
Miss Penalty+0
Qoq Improvement+8
Deflection Penalty+0