Berkshire Hathaway more than doubled its share buybacks in the third quarter, even as its earnings fell, according to a report from CNBC.
The Greg Abel-led conglomerate bought back $9.6 billion of its stock, up from $4.5 billion in the second quarter. Total buybacks for 2026 reached about $14.4 billion.
Berkshire's operating profit, which comes from wholly owned businesses, totaled $12.705 billion. That was down 5.8% from $13.485 billion a year earlier. Insurance underwriting fell 43% to $1.352 billion, and insurance investment income declined 14% to $2.734 billion. The railroad, energy and manufacturing businesses all grew earnings year over year.
Overall earnings, which include the stock portfolio, dropped 28% to $22.112 billion from $30.796 billion. Investment gains fell nearly 50% to $9.407 billion.
Berkshire's Class A shares rose more than 12% over the past month, while the S&P 500 fell 5.5% in that period, according to the report. Year to date, the stock is up 13% against a 7.8% gain for the broad index. The report links the stock's performance to a rotation out of technology stocks.
The five largest equity holdings stayed the same in the third quarter: Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola.
Berkshire's cash holdings grew 3% to $377.435 billion from $365.514 billion in the second quarter. Excluding rail and utility cash and T-bill payables, cash totaled $352.3 billion, down 1.9% from the prior quarter.