Berkshire Hathaway buys back $4.5B in shares, biggest since 2021
What's the story
Berkshire Hathaway has spent around $4.5 billion to repurchase its own shares in the second quarter, the company's biggest quarterly buyback since 2021. The move comes as the company's operating earnings have jumped significantly, up by 16% in the three months ending June to nearly $13 billion. The increase is driven in part by gains in Berkshire's manufacturing, service and retailing division.
Financial strategy
Cash reserves drop to $365.5 billion
Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves have dropped to $365.5 billion in Q2 2026, as the company made net equity purchases of nearly $20 billion during the period.
This indicates that CEO Greg Abel is actively investing more of the company's cash reserves.
Halfway through his first year at the helm, Abel has received praise from shareholders for his leadership.
Market response
Class B shares lag behind S&P 500 this year
Despite the positive developments, Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares have only gained 3.8% this year, as of market close on Friday.
This is lower than the S&P 500's nearly 13% gain during the same period.
Earlier this year, Abel revealed that Berkshire was restarting share buybacks after executives determined that these shares' "intrinsic value" exceeded their market price.
Strategic moves
Major deals under Abel's leadership
Under Abel's leadership, Berkshire Hathaway has made two major deals.
The company spent $6.8 billion on homebuilder Taylor Morrison Home Corp., a typical value bet.
It also invested $10 billion in Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, to back its artificial intelligence (AI) projects.
This deal has pushed Alphabet into the top five of Berkshire's holdings at the end of Q2 2026, replacing Chevron Corp.