Investors await earnings from Warren Buffett's firm

OMAHA, Neb. - Warren Buffett's conglomerate will release its third-quarter earnings report on Friday afternoon.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) attracts a lot of attention because of Buffett's successful record.

The quarterly report will give investors a sense of how Berkshire's more than 80 subsidiaries performed in July, August and September. Berkshire owns BNSF railroad, several major insurance companies, a number of utilities and an assortment of other firms.

Buffett urges investors to pay more attention to the company's operating earnings because the paper value of Berkshire's derivative contracts and investments can cause big swings in its bottom-line profit.

The four analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Berkshire to report operating earnings per share of $2,560.29.