Berkshire Doubles Buybacks to $9.6 Billion as Quarterly Profit Falls
Berkshire Hathaway bought back $9.6 billion of stock in the third quarter, more than double the prior quarter, as operating profit fell 5.8%.
Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate now run by Greg Abel, bought back about $9.6 billion of its own shares in the third quarter, more than twice what it spent in the second quarter. Profits fell over the same period. In results released on Saturday, Nov. 7, the company reported operating earnings of $12.705 billion, down 5.8% from $13.485 billion a year earlier. Weaker insurance results, led by its GEICO auto insurer, did most of the damage.
Overall earnings, which include gains and losses on Berkshire’s large stock portfolio, fell 28% to $22.112 billion from $30.796 billion, according to figures reported by CNBC and Reuters. Revenue rose 11% to $105.65 billion, Reuters reported.
What happened
CNBC reported that the July-to-September buybacks were up from about $4.5 billion in the second quarter. That brings Berkshire’s repurchases for 2026 to roughly $14.4 billion. Reuters added that the company bought back about $2 billion more in October. Even so, the pace is still below Berkshire’s biggest year for buybacks, 2021, when it spent $27 billion.
Investment gains fell by nearly half from a year earlier to $9.407 billion, CNBC said. Berkshire has long told shareholders that these swings, which include unrealized gains and losses on stocks it is not selling, say little about how its businesses are performing. For that reason, many investors focus on operating earnings.
Insurance drags, railroad and energy gain
Insurance was the weak spot. CNBC reported that underwriting profit fell 43% to $1.352 billion and insurance investment income fell 14% to $2.734 billion. According to Reuters, pretax profit at GEICO fell 45%. The insurer has been charging lower premiums to win back customers, and its loss ratio, the share of premiums paid out in claims, rose to 76.6% from 71.5%.
Other businesses grew. Reuters reported that:
- BNSF, Berkshire’s freight railroad, increased profit by 19%, helped by fuel surcharges and higher volumes.
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy, its utility arm, earned 8% more.
- Industrial pretax profit rose 30%, driven by aerospace parts maker Precision Castparts.
- Consumer profit fell, mainly because Duracell received lower tax credits, though Pilot truck stops benefited from higher gasoline prices.
Why it matters
This was Abel’s third quarter as chief executive, after he succeeded Warren Buffett, who is now 96 and chairman emeritus. Reuters noted that Howard Buffett, Warren Buffett’s son, became chairman in September. The faster buybacks suggest Abel is more willing than his predecessor to spend the company’s huge cash reserves. Berkshire went six straight quarters without repurchasing shares before resuming in the first quarter of 2026.
The size of that cash pile depends on how it is measured. CNBC put total cash at $377.4 billion, up 3% from the second quarter, or $352.3 billion excluding cash at the railroad and utility units and Treasury bill payables. Reuters reported $356.9 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of September, down from $380.2 billion six months earlier. Spending this year has included the purchase of Occidental Petroleum’s chemicals business for $9.4 billion and homebuilder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion, Reuters said.
The stock portfolio was worth $335.5 billion as of Sept. 30, Reuters reported. CNBC said its five largest holdings were unchanged: Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola.
How investors and analysts see it
Berkshire shares have held up during a broad market selloff that has hit technology stocks especially hard. CNBC said the Class A shares rose more than 12% over the past month while the S&P 500 fell 5.5%. Year to date, Berkshire is up 13% compared with 7.8% for the index. Reuters reported that the stock hit record highs this week.
Cathy Seifert, an analyst at research firm CFRA who rates the shares “hold,” told Reuters that Berkshire’s balance sheet, diversification and buybacks are “tailwinds.” She also described GEICO’s results as weak next to rivals Allstate and Progressive, and warned that the company’s limited disclosures “become a point of vulnerability” when results move the wrong way.
