Berkshire Hathaway bought back a record $9.6 billion of stock in the third quarter as operating profit fell 6%
What the market is pricing
The results came out on a Saturday, so the last price is Friday's close, before the numbers. Class B shares closed at $570.89, down 0.25%, according to Twelve Data, about 2.6% below their 52-week high of $586.30.
| BRK.B, close Nov 6 | Value |
|---|---|
| Close | $570.89 |
| Change on the day | -0.25% |
| Volume | 5.41M shares (average 5.33M) |
| 52-week range | $464.01 to $586.30 |
A company buys back its own stock when management thinks the price is below what the business is worth, which is the rule Berkshire has long said it follows. A record buyback is therefore the company's own read on the price, made by the people with the most information about the business.
The quarter in numbers
| Third quarter 2026 | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Operating earnings | $12.71B, down 6% from $13.49B | Reuters |
| Net income | $22.11B, down 28% | Reuters |
| Insurance underwriting profit | Down 43% | Reuters, Investing.com |
| Geico pretax profit | Down 45% | Reuters |
| Share buybacks | About $9.6B (Q2: $4.5B, Q1: $234M) | Investing.com |
| Cash, equivalents and T-bills, Sept 30 | $377.4B (June 30: $365.5B) | Investing.com, Bloomberg |
Net income includes unrealized gains and losses on stocks Berkshire still holds, which the company tells investors to ignore, so operating earnings are the cleaner measure. Reuters said Geico's drop came from higher accident losses and more advertising spending. Reuters also reported a narrower cash figure, $356.9 billion of cash and equivalents, which leaves out the Treasury bills counted in the larger total.
Why the buyback stands out
Investing.com called the roughly $9.6 billion an all-time high for a quarter, and Bloomberg also described it as a record. Reuters noted that Berkshire bought about $2 billion more in the first four weeks of October. The largest full year is still 2021, when Berkshire repurchased $27 billion.
It was the third quarter with Greg Abel as chief executive. Warren Buffett, 96, stepped down as chairman in September and is now chairman emeritus, Reuters reported, and Abel has appeared more willing to put the cash to work. Beyond buybacks, Berkshire spent $6.8 billion in July on the homebuilder Taylor Morrison, has bought billions of dollars of Alphabet shares this year and took a 4% stake in the Italian software company Bending Spoons.
What to watch next
Monday's open is the first market reaction. After that, watch whether the October pace of buybacks continues, how Geico's margins recover, and what Berkshire earns on its Treasury bills. That last item depends on the Federal Reserve: the live Fed rate decision odds page shows what Kalshi and Polymarket price for the December 8-9 meeting.
Method and limits
Company figures come from Berkshire's November 7 results as reported by Reuters, Investing.com and Bloomberg; the sources use slightly different rounding (Investing.com and Bloomberg give operating earnings as $12.7 billion, down 5.8%). The cash total depends on whether Treasury bills are included, so two figures appear above. The share price is the Twelve Data close for November 6, read at 14:50 UTC on November 7. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
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Frequently asked questions
How much stock did Berkshire Hathaway buy back in Q3 2026?
About $9.6 billion, the most it has spent in a single quarter, up from $4.5 billion in the second quarter and $234 million in the first. Reuters reported about $2 billion more in the first four weeks of October.
What were Berkshire's Q3 2026 operating earnings?
$12.71 billion, down about 6% from $13.49 billion a year earlier. Insurance underwriting profit fell 43%. Net income, which includes swings in the stock portfolio, fell 28% to $22.11 billion.
How big is Berkshire's cash pile?
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term Treasury bills were $377.4 billion on September 30, up from $365.5 billion at the end of June, according to Investing.com and Bloomberg. Reuters, using cash and equivalents only, reported $356.9 billion.
Sources
- Reuters via AOL, Berkshire Hathaway accelerates stock buybacks, November 7, 2026
- Investing.com, Berkshire Hathaway steps up buybacks as operating profit falls, November 7, 2026
- Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance, Berkshire Hathaway's operating earnings fall, buybacks rise, November 7, 2026
- Twelve Data, BRK.B quote, close of November 6, 2026, read 14:50 UTC, November 7, 2026
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