Buffett’s firm doubles its quarterly profit on Kraft Heinz merger

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s third-quarter profit more than doubled as the completion of the Kraft-Heinz merger boosted the value of its stake in the food giant.

The conglomerate Warren Buffett leads said it earned $9.4 billion, or $5,737 per Class A share. That’s up from $4.6 billion, or $2,811 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Berkshire’s revenue grew 15 percent to nearly $59 billion as its non-insurance businesses performed well.

Berkshire holds about 30 percent of the stock in the Kraft Heinz Food Co., and it recorded a $4.4 billion after-tax gain as the result of the merger.

Buffett says operating earnings offer a better view of quarterly performance because they exclude investments and derivatives. Berkshire’s operating earnings per Class A share were $2,769 this year, down slightly from $2,876 last year.

The four analysts surveyed by FactSet expected Berkshire Hathaway to report operating earnings per Class A share of $2,716.26.