Investing.com -- On the eve of a celebration honoring Warren Buffett's 50th anniversary with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa), Inc. this weekend, the multinational conglomerate holding company said Friday that its operating profit for the first quarter grew by roughly 20% on a year-over-year basis.
Bolstered by gains in its insurance and railroad division, Berkshire Hathaway posted net earnings of $5.16 billion for the first quarter, compared with $4.70 billion in the first quarter of 2014. Berkshire's BNSF railroad division finished the quarter with a net income of $1.045 billion, up from $724 million over the same period last year.
The Omaha-based company also beat analysts' forecasts of $3.6 billion in net earnings. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway earned $3,143 per Class A share, up from $2,862 per share in the first quarter last year. Last August, Berkshire Hathaway's Class A shares moved above $200,000 per share for the first time in company history.
Since Buffett joined Berkshire Hathaway, the company has averaged annual growth near 20% in comparison with average growth from the S&P 500 of roughly 9.8%.
Berkshire Hathaway fully owns insurance giant GEICO, fast-food restaurant Dairy Queen, specialty chemicals company The Lubrizol Corporation, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International and NetJets among others. It also owns percentages in American Express (NYSE:AXP), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Heinz. Earlier in the quarter, Berkshire Hathaway orchestrated a merger between Heinz and Kraft Foods Group (NASDAQ:KRFT).
In 2012, Time named Buffett one of the world's most influential people.