Berkshire Hathaway buys back $9.6bn of stock as net profit falls more than 28%

Buybacks under Abel

Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as chief executive in January, stepped up share repurchases in the third quarter. The Omaha-based conglomerate said in a statement on Saturday that it had bought back $9.6 billion of its own shares during the period, the highest quarterly figure this year. Buffett, who is 96, gave up the chairmanship in September but remains on the board as honorary chairman. The Financial Times noted that Abel was nonetheless a net seller of stocks overall, offloading a net $426 million of shares in the quarter, after Berkshire had been a net buyer in the previous quarter for the first time in several years.

Cash pile

Cash reserves nonetheless grew. The company held $377.4 billion at the end of September, up from $365.5 billion at the end of June. The FT put the figure at $357 billion, down 2.2% from the previous quarter, because its measure excludes US government debt that Berkshire had bought but not yet paid for. Berkshire's stock portfolio was valued at $336 billion, up 12.7% from a year earlier, according to the same report. Buybacks in the first half of the year totalled $4.8 billion, so the pace picked up in the third quarter.

2026-06365.5

2026-09377.4

2026-06

365.5 $bn

2026-09

377.4 $bn

Data from the article text

Profit and operating earnings

Net profit reached $22.1 billion, or $15,502 per Class A share, against $30.8 billion, or $21,413 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. The company has long urged investors to focus on operating earnings, which strip out swings in the value of its investments. Those fell 5.8% to $12.7 billion, or $8,907 per Class A share, from $13.485 billion, or $9,376.15 per share a year earlier. Four analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected $8,821.84 per Class A share in operating earnings. Insurance profit fell 26%, the main reason for the operating decline.

Net profit Q3 202530.8

Net profit Q3 202622.1

Operating earnings Q3 202513.485

Operating earnings Q3 202612.7

Net profit Q3 2025

30.8 $bn

Net profit Q3 2026

22.1 $bn

Operating earnings Q3 2025

13.485 $bn

Operating earnings Q3 2026

12.7 $bn

Data from the article text

Geico and the analyst view

Geico's underwriting profit fell to $1.35 billion from $2.37 billion a year earlier. CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said the insurer is in a difficult position, with premiums shrinking while average claim costs rise, and that competitors such as Progressive are handling the same pressure better. The non-insurance businesses, including Precision Castparts, the utilities and the BNSF railroad, appear to be performing better than the insurance arm, even without hurricanes or other large catastrophes this year. Seifert put the split between Abel's businesses and the rest of the group this way:

“I think we're seeing the businesses that play to Greg's strengths do well.”

Leadership handover and shares

Buffett's step back has unfolded in stages. He surprised investors in May 2025 by announcing plans to retire at the annual meeting, and the Class A share price has since climbed back above $878,000, the level it had reached before that announcement. Howard Buffett, 71, replaced his father as chair in September. The FT reported that Berkshire's shares have risen 15% since the start of the year, against an 8% total return for the S&P 500, although the broader market fell sharply in recent days as the US midterm elections roiled tech shares. Il Sole 24 ORE expects buybacks to slow now that the share price has recovered, leaving the cash available for volatile markets. Abel's larger deals this year include participation in Alphabet's $85 billion capital raise and the purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison, which the FT valued at $8.5 billion while Handelsblatt put it at $6.8 billion in July, plus a $330 million investment in Bending Spoons.