Berkshire Hathaway Q3 2026: Record Buybacks, Lower Operating Profit
Berkshire Hathaway bought back about $9.6 billion of its own stock in Q3 2026 while operating earnings fell to about $12.7 billion, 24/7 Wall St. reported.
Berkshire Hathaway spent about $9.6 billion buying back its own shares in the third quarter of 2026, a record for a single quarter, according to 24/7 Wall St.'s report on the results Berkshire released on Saturday, November 7, 2026. Operating earnings, the profit from Berkshire's businesses that leaves out swings in its stock portfolio, fell to about $12.7 billion from $13.5 billion a year earlier, the outlet said. Bloomberg's headline on the results also said operating earnings fell while buybacks rose.
Greg Abel became Berkshire's chief executive at the start of 2026, 24/7 Wall St. noted.
The key numbers
Measure (Q3 2026) | Amount | Change vs. Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|
Operating earnings | about $12.7B | down 5.8% |
Manufacturing, service and retailing | $4.04B | up 11.8% |
Insurance investment income | $2.73B | down 14.1% |
BNSF railroad | $1.73B | up 19.3% |
Berkshire Hathaway Energy | $1.61B | up 8.3% |
Insurance underwriting | $1.35B | down 42.9% |
Net earnings | $22.1B | — |
Share buybacks | about $9.6B | — |
Source: 24/7 Wall St. report of Berkshire's Q3 2026 results. Figures are rounded.
Net earnings of $22.1 billion included about $9.4 billion of investment gains, 24/7 Wall St. reported. Berkshire itself tells investors to focus on operating earnings, because quarterly gains and losses on the stocks it holds say little about how its businesses are doing. This quarter's $9.4 billion of gains shows how large that effect can be. Our guide on how to read an earnings report explains why companies show both figures.
Where the profit grew and where it shrank
The railroad, the utility business and the group of manufacturing and retail companies all earned more than a year earlier. The drag came from insurance. Underwriting profit fell by more than 40%, and investment income from the insurance float, the premiums Berkshire holds before paying claims, fell 14.1%, according to the report.
A record quarter for buybacks
The buybacks included about 12.4 million Class B shares at an average price of $503.68, plus 4,536 Class A shares, with the heaviest buying in September, 24/7 Wall St. said. That brings repurchases for the first nine months of 2026 to $14.4 billion. For comparison, Berkshire's Q2 release said it bought back about $4.5 billion of stock in the second quarter and about $4.8 billion in the first half.
The outlet also reported that Berkshire bought $41.8 billion of stocks and sold $30.6 billion in the first nine months, making it a net buyer of about $11.2 billion. It put cash and Treasury bills in the insurance and other businesses at $352.3 billion on September 30, after adjusting for Treasury bill purchases that settled in October.
What it means for investors
A company buys back its own stock when it thinks the shares are worth more than their price. Buybacks also shrink the share count, so each remaining share owns a slightly bigger piece of the company. Buybacks are one of two main ways companies return cash to shareholders; our guide to dividend stocks covers the other. New investors can start with how to start investing in stocks.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
Sources
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Do your own research before buying or selling any asset.