Berkshire Hathaway Buybacks Hit $9.6B as Profits Fall
DATELINE: NEW YORK, NY — November 7, 2026
Berkshire ended September with $377.4 billion in gross cash reserves, equivalent to approximately $357 billion after accounting for $20.5 billion in unsettled Treasury bill purchases. BNSF Railway reported a 19.3% profit increase, while Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s earnings rose 8.3% to $1.6 billion.
Expand these verified results into complete, original reporting, including the 10.5% increase in BNSF’s average revenue per car and the energy unit’s exposure to clean energy tax credits. Do not invent consolidated revenue comparisons or macroeconomic guidance.Berkshire Hathaway Inc.(https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/nov0726.pdf) repurchased a record $9.6 billion in shares during the third quarter of 2026, even as operating earnings fell 5.8% to $12.705 billion.
The conglomerate’s November 7 financial results showed a sharp decline in insurance underwriting profits.
The Omaha-based company’s operating earnings declined from $13.485 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025. Insurance underwriting earnings fell 43% to $1.352 billion, while insurance investment income declined 14% to $2.734 billion.
Net income dropped 28% to $22.112 billion from $30.796 billion a year earlier.
The results place Chief Executive Officer Greg Abel’s capital allocation decisions in focus as Berkshire balances substantial liquidity against weaker insurance earnings. Senior insurance analyst Matthew Palazola of Bloomberg Intelligence said, “Valuations of equities probably were less attractive to Abel in the third quarter”.
Record Buybacks Reshape Capital Allocation
Berkshire’s $9.6 billion quarterly repurchase represented a substantial commitment to its own shares during a period when the company retained unusually large financial reserves. The record spending also distinguished the quarter from periods when Berkshire accumulated liquidity while facing limited opportunities for major acquisitions.
The buybacks occurred alongside additional investments and acquisitions, demonstrating that the company’s capital allocation activity extended beyond repurchasing its stock. Berkshire’s financial position allowed it to pursue several avenues of investment despite the contraction in earnings from its insurance businesses.
The company’s reported investment activity included purchases of shares in Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, whose operations include artificial intelligence development. The investment placed another major technology business within Berkshire’s broader portfolio of publicly traded equities.
Berkshire also completed a $6.8 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison in July. Separately, the conglomerate made a $930 million investment in Milan-based software company Bending Spoons SpA.
These transactions broadened the picture of Berkshire’s capital deployment during 2026. The investments involved businesses in housing, software and technology, while the record repurchases directed additional funds toward Berkshire’s existing shareholders.
Cash Reserves Remain Exceptionally Large
Berkshire ended September with $377.4 billion in gross cash reserves, equivalent to approximately $357 billion after accounting for $20.5 billion in unsettled U.S. Treasury bill purchases.
The distinction between gross reserves and the adjusted cash position is important when evaluating how much liquidity Berkshire held after commitments to pending securities transactions. Both figures indicate that the company retained considerable financial flexibility despite its quarterly spending.
The conglomerate also reported a $335.5 billion equity portfolio, exposing its reported net income to changes in the market values of publicly traded investments. Those valuation movements can produce substantial differences between the company’s net earnings and the operating results of its wholly owned businesses.
The third-quarter figures illustrate that distinction. Berkshire reported $22.112 billion in net income, compared with $12.705 billion in operating earnings.
Its operating results measure performance across its businesses, while the broader net income figure also reflects investment-related accounting effects.
The company did not establish a direct relationship between the size of its repurchases and a specific valuation target in the financial figures cited. Palazola’s assessment instead highlighted the relative attractiveness of publicly traded equities as a consideration in Abel’s investment decisions.
Insurance Underwriting Drives Earnings Decline
Insurance was the principal source of weakness in Berkshire’s third-quarter operating performance. Underwriting earnings of $1.352 billion represented a steep year-over-year contraction, while the decline in insurance investment income added pressure to the segment’s overall contribution.
The two insurance measures capture different parts of Berkshire’s business. Underwriting results reflect its insurance operations, while investment income reflects returns generated from assets held by those businesses.
Both declined during the quarter.
The deterioration came despite Berkshire’s extensive insurance operations, which include National Indemnity and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. The reported segment figures establish the scale of the insurance slowdown without identifying a separate, verified quarterly earnings decline for Geico.
Insurance results also need to be considered alongside the conglomerate’s exposure to other industries. Berkshire owns major transportation and utility operations whose financial performance provided an offset to weaker insurance earnings during the reporting period.
Railroad and Energy Businesses Grow
Berkshire’s BNSF Railway subsidiary recorded a 19.3% increase in profit during the third quarter. The improvement was supported by a 10.5% increase in average revenue per car, including the effects of fuel surcharge adjustments.
The results showed stronger revenue realization within the railway business, even as Berkshire’s aggregate operating earnings declined. BNSF, led by Chief Executive Officer Katie Farmer, remained an important contributor to the conglomerate’s performance outside insurance.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy reported an 8.3% increase in earnings to $1.6 billion. The improvement reflected higher utility sales volumes and customer rate increases in certain markets.
Approximately one-third of the energy subsidiary’s quarterly earnings came from statutory clean energy tax credits. That contribution makes federal tax policy a material consideration when assessing the durability of the business’s reported profitability.
Palazola addressed the potential political implications for those incentives, saying, “Under Republican administrations, it seemed like those might fade away over time, but should we have Democrats staying in power for longer, that’s actually a benefit for this business”.
His comments described a potential policy risk rather than a confirmed legislative change or formal Berkshire earnings forecast. Future changes to federal clean energy incentives could affect the financial contribution of those credits.
Share Performance Reflects Market Rotation
Berkshire’s latest financial results arrived during a shift in equity market performance. Its Class A shares gained more than 12% over the preceding month, while the S&P 500 declined approximately 5.5% over the same period.
The divergence accompanied investor interest in established industrial and defensive businesses as technology valuations came under pressure. Berkshire’s exposure to insurance, rail transportation, energy and other operating companies positioned its shares differently from technology-focused investments.
The conglomerate’s Class A shares reached record highs during the reporting week in New York. Their performance contrasted with the contraction in quarterly operating profits, demonstrating how market valuations and near-term subsidiary earnings can move in different directions.
Berkshire’s financial position now combines substantial retained liquidity, record quarterly share repurchases and uneven operating performance across its major businesses. The next quarterly results will provide another measure of whether insurance underwriting recovers and whether the railroad and energy subsidiaries sustain their reported improvements.