Berkshire May Post First Book-Value Decline in Five Quarters
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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. may post its first quarterly decline in book value in more than a year on drops in Wells Fargo & Co., American Express Co. and Chairman Warren Buffett’s equity-derivative bets.
Book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities, may have slipped to $97,868 per Class A share on Sept. 30 from $98,716 on June 30, said Jay Gelb, an analyst at Barclays Plc, who has an “overweight” rating on Omaha-Nebraska-based Berkshire’s stock. Meyer Shields of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. published an end-of-third -quarter estimate of $98,491.