Berkshire Spends $9.6bn on Buybacks as Profit Slips
Berkshire Hathaway more than doubled its share repurchases in the third quarter while operating and overall earnings both declined from a year earlier.
Berkshire Hathaway put about $9.6 billion into buying its own shares in the third quarter. That is more than twice the second-quarter figure, and it came in a period when the group earned less than a year before.
Buybacks pick up speed
The conglomerate, led by Greg Abel, said on Saturday that it stepped up repurchases between July and September. The second quarter had seen $4.5 billion of stock bought back. With the new quarter added, buybacks for 2026 now total about $14.4 billion.
A buyback means a company uses its own cash to purchase shares from investors, which leaves fewer shares in circulation.
The cash pile keeps growing
Even with $9.6 billion spent on shares, Berkshire's cash hoard rose 3% in the quarter to $377.435 billion, from $365.514 billion in the second quarter. That total includes cash held by the railroad and utility units and T-bill payables.
Strip those items out and the picture reverses. Cash holdings came to $352.3 billion, down 1.9% from the previous quarter.
A stock that held up
The weaker profit has not hurt the share price. Class A shares are up more than 12% over the past month, while the S&P 500 has dropped 5.5% over the same stretch. For the year to date, Berkshire has gained 13% and the broad index is up 7.8%. The report ties the outperformance to a rotation out of technology stocks.
Berkshire's five largest equity holdings did not change in the third quarter. They remain Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola.
Where the profit slipped
Operating earnings, the profit from wholly owned businesses, fell 5.8% to $12.705 billion. A year earlier the figure was $13.485 billion. The main drag was insurance.
Underwriting profit is what an insurer keeps after paying claims and costs from premiums. Here it fell 43% to $1.352 billion. Investment income from the insurance business dropped 14% to $2.734 billion. Rail, energy and manufacturing earned more than a year before.
Overall earnings include gains from the group's large stock portfolio. They fell 28% to $22.112 billion, from $30.796 billion a year earlier, as investment gains dropped by nearly 50% to $9.407 billion.
Source: CNBC