Berkshire spent $4.5B on buybacks in Q2, its largest since 2021, as operating earnings surged to $13B. Abel's dealmaking pushed Alphabet into top holdings. Alpha Score 53.
Berkshire Hathaway spent about $4.5 billion on its own stock in the second quarter, the largest buyback since 2021. Operating earnings hit nearly $13 billion, the Omaha-based conglomerate said Saturday, driven by gains in its manufacturing and retailing divisions.
The buyback came as the firm's cash pile shrank to $365.5 billion. Net equity purchases reached about $20 billion in the period, a sign that CEO Greg Abel is putting more of the company's cash to work.
Abel is halfway through his first year at the helm. Shareholders have praised his leadership. Berkshire's Class B shares rose 3.8% this year through Friday's close, trailing the S&P 500's roughly 13% gain – a benchmark Warren Buffett himself often cited.
Berkshire restarted buybacks in the first quarter after a pause of more than a year. Abel said earlier this year that executives found the stock's intrinsic value exceeded its market price.
Abel has also sealed two big deals. He spent $6.8 billion on homebuilder Taylor Morrison. He gave $10 billion to Alphabet to support its AI investments. That pushed Alphabet into Berkshire's top five holdings at quarter-end, replacing Chevron.
Berkshire's businesses – insurance, railroads, energy, and manufacturing – offer a read on the broader U.S. economy. The BRK.B stock page shows an Alpha Score of 53, a mixed signal. The deals under Abel mark a shift from the relatively quiet dealmaking of Buffett's later years.
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