Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is reaping the benefits of the U.S. economic recovery.
The conglomerate’s collection of manufacturers and retailers bounced back during the second quarter after being hit hard as the pandemic ripped through the U.S. last year. That group of businesses posted its second-highest quarterly profit in data going back to the middle of 2009 and helped fuel a 21% gain in Berkshire’s total operating profit during the period. “It’s all of the other old economy, manufacturing, service, retailing, transportation businesses that just really reflect the broad economic recovery driving this performance this quarter,” Jim Shanahan, an analyst at Edward Jones, said in a phone interview. “There’s a housing angle here which I think was a really strong contributor this quarter.”
