Berkshire buybacks double to $9.6 billion as profit slips

Berkshire Hathaway leaned into its own stock as profits cooled. In results published on Saturday, November 7, Berkshire buybacks doubled from the prior quarter to about $9.6 billion, bringing repurchases for the first nine months of 2026 to roughly $14.4 billion.

What happened

Operating earnings, which strip out swings in the equity portfolio, fell to $12.705 billion from $13.485 billion a year earlier, a drop of 5.8%. Insurance did most of the damage: underwriting profit slid to $1.352 billion from $2.369 billion, and insurance investment income fell to $2.734 billion from $3.181 billion. BNSF, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and the manufacturing, service and retailing group all earned more than a year ago.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders came to $22.112 billion, down from $30.796 billion, as investment gains shrank to $9.407 billion from $17.311 billion. Berkshire again told investors that quarterly investment gains are "usually meaningless" as a guide to performance. Insurance float stood at about $178.5 billion at September 30, up roughly $2.1 billion since the end of 2025. Investment gains included $1.7 billion of after-tax realized gains on sales, down from $8.1 billion a year earlier, and net earnings per Class B share were $10.33, against $14.28.

CNBC reported that second-quarter repurchases were $4.5 billion and that the cash pile rose to $377.435 billion, though the figure excluding rail and utility cash and Treasury bill payables fell 1.9% to $352.3 billion.

Why it matters

Repurchases are the clearest signal of how management values the company. With Berkshire buybacks double the previous quarter's pace under chief executive Greg Abel, the board is signaling that it sees its own shares as reasonably priced while it sits on a cash pile of more than $377 billion.

The stock has become a refuge during the tech sell-off. CNBC noted that Class A shares rose more than 12% over the past month while the S&P 500 lost 5.5%, a rotation driven by the AI rout that erased a trillion dollars from the Magnificent Seven and left the index with a fourth straight weekly loss. The five largest equity holdings were unchanged: Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola.

The share count shows the buyback at work. Average equivalent Class A shares outstanding fell to 1,426,372 in the quarter from 1,438,223 a year earlier, and stood at 1,418,900 at September 30. Currency moves also trimmed results, with $343 million of losses on non-dollar debt against a $331 million gain a year earlier.

What's next

The quarterly 10-Q will offer detail on portfolio moves and whether repurchases continued into October. Investors will also watch whether insurance pricing stabilizes after a weaker underwriting quarter.

If Berkshire buybacks double again, it would suggest Abel sees more value at home than in deals. The figures are in Berkshire's news release.