Berkshire Hathaway Doubles Q3 Buybacks to $9.6B Amid Falling Operating Profit

Berkshire Hathaway repurchased about $9.6 billion of its own stock in the third quarter, more than double the $4.5 billion bought in the second quarter, according to its earnings release on Saturday, Nov. 7. That brings buybacks for the first nine months of 2026 to about $14.4 billion, and 24/7 Wall St. reports it is the most the company has ever spent on its stock in a single quarter. BRK.B paid an average of $503.68 per Class B share in the quarter, per that report, versus about $488 per share in June.

The buying came as operating earnings fell 5.8% to $12.7 billion from $13.5 billion a year earlier. Insurance underwriting profit dropped 42.9% to $1.35 billion and insurance investment income fell 14.1%, while BNSF rose 19.3%, Berkshire Hathaway Energy rose 8.3% and manufacturing, service and retailing rose 11.8%. Net earnings fell 28.2% to $22.1 billion as investment gains shrank to $9.4 billion from $17.3 billion. Revenue was $105.6 billion.

Investing.com framed the report as a beat, noting net earnings of $10.33 per Class B share against an analyst estimate of $5.78, a gap of $4.55, and revenue of $105.6 billion against a consensus of $100.93 billion. That EPS figure is net earnings, which includes investment gains, so it does not contradict the decline in operating profit.

Cash and equivalents were $377.4 billion, or $352.3 billion after excluding rail and utility cash and Treasury bill payables, per CNBC. Over the first nine months Berkshire bought $41.8 billion of stocks and sold $30.6 billion, a net purchase of about $11.2 billion, according to 24/7 Wall St. Investors may watch whether underwriting results recover and whether the repurchase pace continues; one report said Berkshire bought back about $2 billion more in the first four weeks of October.