Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) Q3 Buybacks Double to $9.6B Amid Earnings Drop

Berkshire Hathaway accelerated its stock buybacks in the third quarter, repurchasing $9.6 billion of its shares. This amount more than doubled the $4.5 billion repurchased in the second quarter and brought total buybacks for 2026 to about $14.4 billion. The company increased buybacks despite a decline in both operating and overall profits.

Operating earnings, driven by wholly-owned businesses, fell 5.8% year over year to $12.705 billion, with insurance underwriting profits tumbling 43% to $1.352 billion and insurance investment income down 14% to $2.734 billion. However, Berkshire's railroad, energy, and manufacturing units saw year-over-year earnings growth. Overall earnings, which include the stock market portfolio, dropped 28% to $22.112 billion as investment gains fell nearly 50% to $9.407 billion.

Berkshire's stock price has risen over 12% in the past month, outperforming the S&P 500 which declined 5.5% over the same period. Year to date, Berkshire gained 13% compared to the S&P 500's 7.8% increase. The company’s five largest equity holdings remained Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America, and Coca-Cola. Cash holdings rose 3% to $377.435 billion in Q3, though excluding rail and utility cash and T-bill payables, cash was down 1.9% to $352.3 billion. This buyback activity and cash position reflect Berkshire's financial management amid weaker earnings.

The share repurchase surge shows Berkshire Hathaway's commitment to return value to shareholders even as profit pressures persist, potentially supporting the stock price through buybacks amid an earnings decline.