Berkshire Repurchases $9.6 Billion of Its Shares in Third Quarter
Key Facts
Berkshire Hathaway said on November 7 that it repurchased about $9.6 billion of its shares in the third quarter of 2026, bringing total purchases in the first nine months to about $14.4 billion. The company reported the figure in its quarterly earnings statement, providing the latest tally for its buyback program this year. The announcement comes as operating and insurance underwriting profits declined compared with the third quarter of 2025. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to $377.4 billion at quarter-end, according to The Associated Press. The figures place the buybacks in a financial picture combining substantial spending on the company’s shares, high liquidity and mixed performance across its businesses.
After-tax operating earnings were $12.705 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $13.485 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Berkshire’s statement. This measure reflects the performance of operating businesses, while net income attributable to shareholders was $22.112 billion, down from $30.796 billion a year earlier. The quarter’s results included investment gains of $9.407 billion, compared with $17.311 billion in the third quarter of 2025. The company said investment gains include unrealized changes in the value of equity investments. Net income therefore differs from operating earnings, and the comparison between them does not reflect a single movement in the company’s business.
In insurance, underwriting earnings at subsidiaries fell to $1.352 billion from $2.369 billion in the third quarter of 2025. CFRA analyst Cathy Seifert said Geico is facing a decline in insurance premiums alongside an increase in the average cost of claims. The Associated Press noted a decline in underwriting earnings across the insurance subsidiaries as a whole, consistent with the figures Berkshire reported. By contrast, Seifert said some non-insurance businesses overseen by Greg Abel for years, including manufacturing, utilities and BNSF Railway, appear to be performing better than the large insurance unit. This highlights uneven performance within the group rather than a uniform trend across its sectors.
Cash and cash equivalents rose to $377.4 billion at the end of the third quarter, from $365.5 billion at the end of June, according to The Associated Press. At the same time, Berkshire repurchased $9.6 billion of shares during the quarter, bringing the total since the start of the year to about $14.4 billion, according to the company’s statement. The news agency said the buybacks are likely to have stopped recently after the Class A share price topped $878,000. The report linked this to the stock’s surpassing its previous level before Warren Buffett announced his retirement plan at the annual shareholders’ meeting in May 2025. The halt remains an estimate reported by the agency, while the published figures allow a comparison between the quarter’s purchases and the nine-month total.
These developments come during a leadership transition at the group. After handing the chief executive role to Greg Abel in January, Buffett stepped down as chairman in September 2026, according to an Associated Press report. The report said Howard Buffett will become chairman, while Abel will remain chief executive. It also noted that investors are weighing how Abel will deploy the company’s massive cash holdings. The reported share purchases and liquidity provide context for that question, alongside the quarter’s operating and insurance results. In the broader market, the S&P 500 rose 2.3% on November 9, its second consecutive session of gains after a sell-off linked to concerns that Democratic victories in the midterm elections could affect the buildout of AI data centers.