Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett.Andrew Harnik | APBerkshire Hathaway on Saturday posted a solid gain in operating profits during the third quarter despite rising recession fears, while Warren Buffett kept buying back his stock at a modest pace.The Omaha-based conglomerate’s operating earnings — which encompass profits made from the myriad of businesses owned by the conglomerate like insurance, railroads and utilities — totaled $7.761 billion in the third quarter, up 20% from year-earlier period.Insurance-investment income came in at $1.408 billion, up from $1.161 billion a year earlier. Earnings from the company’s utilities and energy businesses came in at $1.585 billion, up from $1.496 billion year over year. Insurance underwriting suffered a loss of 962 million, however, while railroad earnings dipped to $1.442 billion from $1.538 billion in 2021.Berkshire spent $1.05 billion in share repurchases during the quarter, bringing the nine-month total to $5.25 billion. The pace of buyback was in line with the $1 billion purchased in the second quarter. Repurchases were well below CFRA’s expectation as its analyst estimated it would be similar to the $3.2 billion total in the fi …
