Berkshire Hathaway Q2 2026 earnings: Greg Abel deploys cash

Berkshire Hathaway reported operating net of $12.98 cardinal for the 2nd 4th of 2026, a fig that compares with $11.16 cardinal successful the aforesaid play past year, arsenic CEO Greg Abel stepped up stock repurchases and reversed a prolonged agelong of banal selling.

Abel, who took implicit from Warren Buffett astatine the commencement of the year, spent astir $4.5 cardinal connected buybacks during the quarter, a crisp summation from the $235 cardinal deployed successful the archetypal 3 months of 2026, according to CNBC. Berkshire besides swung to the bargain broadside successful equities during the quarter, accumulating astir $20 cardinal successful nett purchases aft having sold much stocks than it bought successful each of the anterior 14 quarters.

Berkshire's currency reserves stood astatine $365.5 cardinal arsenic of June 30, down from a grounds $397.4 cardinal astatine the adjacent of the archetypal quarter. The 4th included the closing of Berkshire's acquisition of Taylor Morrison.

Several businesses drove the net increase. The manufacturing, work and retailing conception saw net turn 24% to $4.47 billion, Berkshire Hathaway Energy contributed $891 cardinal successful nett — a 27% betterment — and BNSF, the company's railroad, added $1.56 billion, up 6%.

Insurance was a anemic point. On the underwriting side, net dropped 13% to $1.73 billion, and concern income from the security operations came successful astatine $3.06 billion, a 9% decrease, the institution said.

Net net attributable to Berkshire shareholders came successful astatine $25.67 cardinal for the quarter, compared with $12.37 cardinal successful the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier. The leap was driven successful portion by $12.68 cardinal successful concern gains, including $10.9 cardinal tied to unrealized gains connected equity holdings, the institution said. Berkshire noted that concern gains successful immoderate fixed 4th are typically not indicative of concern performance.

According to CNBC, Berkshire's latest filing showed Alphabet has entered the apical 5 equity positions by marketplace value, a radical that besides includes American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. The $10 cardinal involvement successful the Google parent, disclosed earlier this year, was made with a absorption connected supporting AI development.

Buffett, present serving arsenic chairman, near Abel successful power of a currency stockpile that had grown to a standard seldom if ever seen astatine a large corporation. Investors person agelong urged Abel to deploy that superior much aggressively beyond short-term authorities securities. Berkshire shares person gained 3% truthful acold this year, lagging the S&P 500, which is up 13%.