Berkshire Hathaway more than doubled its share buybacks in the third quarter to $9.6 billion, a sharp acceleration from the $4.5 billion repurchased in the second quarter. The move brought the company's total buybacks for 2026 to approximately $14.4 billion. The stepped-up repurchase programme came as the conglomerate, led by Greg Abel, reported a pullback in both operating and overall profits for the period.
Operating earnings from Berkshire's wholly-owned businesses fell 5.8% year over year to $12.705 billion from $13.485 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. The decline was driven primarily by weakness in the insurance division. Insurance underwriting profits tumbled 43% compared with the prior year quarter to $1.352 billion, while insurance investment income dropped 14% to $2.734 billion. However, Berkshire's railroad, energy and manufacturing operations all posted year-over-year earnings growth.
The company's broader net earnings, which include gains and losses from its extensive stock portfolio, fell more sharply. Overall profits declined 28% to $22.112 billion from $30.796 billion in the year-earlier period, with investment gains falling nearly 50% to $9.407 billion. Despite the earnings weakness, Berkshire's stock has outperformed recently amid a rotation away from technology shares. Class A shares gained more than 12% over the past month, compared with a 5.5% decline in the S&P 500 over the same timeframe. Year to date, Berkshire stock is up 13%, outpacing the broad market index's 7.8% gain.
Berkshire's five largest equity holdings remained unchanged in the third quarter: Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. The company's total cash hoard increased 3% in the quarter to $377.435 billion from $365.514 billion in the second quarter. When excluding cash held by rail and utility subsidiaries as well as Treasury bill payables, the conglomerate's available cash holdings totalled $352.3 billion, down 1.9% from the prior quarter.
For US investors and savers, Berkshire's accelerated buybacks and stock outperformance amid a tech selloff signal a shift in market leadership away from growth stocks towards value-oriented investments.