Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said first-quarter profit climbed 9.8 percent on higher investment income at insurance operations and results from the BNSF railroad.

Net income rose to $5.16 billion, or $3,143 per share, from $4.71 billion, or $2,862, a year earlier, Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire said Friday in a statement. Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, were $2,583 per share, beating the $2,373 estimate of three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Investors are gathering in Omaha this weekend for Berkshire’s annual meeting and to help Buffett, 84, celebrate his golden anniversary running the company. When he took control five decades ago, it was a struggling textile maker. He gradually transformed Berkshire into a sprawling conglomerate with operations that now include insurers, utilities, manufacturers, retailers and one of the largest U.S. railroads.

“He’s got good, capable managers” running a stable of profitable businesses, said Cliff Gallant, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. “His high-class problem is figuring out what to do with the cash.”

Results were helped by an $857 million gain on derivatives. Investment income from the insurance division advanced to $875 million from $720 million.

Railroad Rebound

Berkshire’s biggest unit, the BNSF railroad, contributed $1.05 billion to quarterly earnings, compared with $724 million a year earlier. The railroad said last week that it won back market share for grain and agriculture commodities that it lost to Union Pacific Corp. in 2014. BNSF had struggled with service as harsh winter weather slowed train speeds and a record harvest and more oil shipments boosted demand.

Profit at the utility unit, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, fell to $421 million from $452 million a year earlier. The business operates electric grids in the U.K., natural-gas pipelines that stretch from the Great Lakes to Texas and power companies in states including Iowa and Nevada.

The mix of subsidiaries at Berkshire gives it broad exposure to the U.S. economy. The billionaire has frequently highlighted the prospects for businesses in the country, and wrote in a letter to shareholders in February that its market economy would “continue to work its magic.” He cautioned that the gains wouldn’t come in a smooth manner.

Recent data suggest the U.S. is hitting some speed bumps. Gross domestic product sputtered to a near halt in the first quarter, expanding at a 0.2 percent annualized pace, Commerce Department figures showed Wednesday in Washington. The weaker- than-forecast result was driven by severe winter weather and a slump in exports and business spending.

Van Tuyl

Berkshire is showing little sign of pulling back. The company’s $15 billion outlay on plant and equipment in 2014 set a record, and Buffett said there will be more opportunities to spend in the U.S. this year. The capital budget at the railroad alone is $6 billion in 2015.

The billionaire also continues to buy more businesses. Last year, he agreed to purchase battery-maker Duracell as well as Van Tuyl Group, a network of car dealerships. Berkshire said in a regulatory filing Friday that it paid $4.1 billion for Van Tuyl.

Packaged Foods

Buffett has been using Berkshire’s cash hoard to help finance deals. In 2013, he partnered with buyout firm 3G Capital to take ketchup maker H.J. Heinz private. Then, in March, Heinz announced that it was buying Kraft Foods Group Inc. with stock and $10 billion in additional funds from Berkshire and 3G.

The transaction is poised to create a packaged-food colossus with more than $25 billion in revenue. Buffett’s firm will own a little more than a quarter of the business.

Some of Buffett’s stock picks faltered in the past year. American Express Co. and International Business Machines Corp., two of the biggest holdings, have slipped more than 10 percent in the last year. Coke is little changed in the last 12 months.

Berkshire’s own shares have come down from their record high in December. Class A shares have slipped 4.5 percent to $215,800 from the end of last year.