Berkshire Hathaway stock buybacks extend into October as profit falls

Berkshire Hathaway accelerated capital returns beyond the third quarter, with Reuters reporting on Saturday, November 7, that the conglomerate repurchased about 2 billion US dollars of its own shares during October. The additional buying followed 9.6 billion US dollars of repurchases between July and September and gives investors a fresh read on Greg Abel's approach to deploying Berkshire's large cash reserve.

October buying extends Abel's capital push

Reuters said Berkshire had bought back 4.8 billion US dollars during the first half of 2026, followed by the 9.6 billion US dollars in the third quarter and about 2 billion US dollars in October. The company spent heavily on its own stock even as insurance results weakened, making the pace of repurchases a central capital-allocation issue for shareholders.

The third-quarter report covered the period ended September 30, 2026. Operating earnings fell 6 percent year over year to 12.71 billion US dollars, while net earnings declined 28 percent to 22.11 billion US dollars, according to Reuters.

Insurance weakness remains the counterweight

Insurance profit declined as underwriting earnings fell 43 percent. Geico's pretax profit dropped 45 percent, while its loss ratio increased to 76.6 percent from 71.5 percent a year earlier. Higher earnings at BNSF Railway, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Precision Castparts partly offset the insurance pressure.

Berkshire Hathaway stock traded at 535.60 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 16:05 CET on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

The S&P 500 remains the relevant broad US equity benchmark for investors assessing Berkshire's performance.

More news and analyses on Berkshire Hathaway stock will track insurance profitability, capital allocation and the next quarterly update.