Key points
- Berkshire bought back $9.6 billion of stock
- Geico's underwriting profit fell 45%
- Alphabet trades about 19% below Berkshire's June price
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) bought back $9.6 billion of its own stock in the third quarter, more than twice the $4.5 billion it spent in the second. Bloomberg called it a record.
The purchases came as operating earnings fell 5.8% to $12.7 billion. Insurance earnings declined, while the railroad, energy, and manufacturing businesses earned more than a year earlier. Net earnings fell 28% to $22.1 billion.
Berkshire's Class B shares closed at $570.89 on Nov. 6, the day before the report. They rose more than 5% that week, while the S&P 500 fell almost 2.7% amid a tech selloff.
Berkshire has exposure to that selloff too. The Alphabet (GOOGL) shares it bought directly from the company for $10 billion in June now trade about 19% below what Berkshire paid.
How did Berkshire's businesses do?
Insurance drove the decline in operating earnings. Geico was the biggest drag, with pre-tax underwriting profit falling 45% from a year earlier.
| After-tax earnings | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance underwriting | $1.35 billion | $2.37 billion | -43% |
| Insurance investment income | $2.73 billion | $3.18 billion | -14% |
| BNSF | $1.73 billion | $1.45 billion | +19% |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy | $1.61 billion | $1.49 billion | +8% |
| Manufacturing, service, and retailing | $4.04 billion | $3.62 billion | +12% |
| Other | $1.24 billion | $1.38 billion | -10% |
| Operating earnings | $12.71 billion | $13.49 billion | -5.8% |
Geico's pre-tax underwriting profit came to $982 million, the 10-Q shows. The share of premiums going to losses rose to 76.6% from 71.5%, and written premiums slipped 0.3%. Reuters said the insurer has been willing to charge less to win back customers.
Net earnings fell because investment gains dropped to $9.4 billion from $17.3 billion. Berkshire's release calls quarterly investment gains "usually meaningless."
What did Berkshire pay for its own stock?
The 10-Q breaks down the purchases by month. September was the busiest, at about 56% of the quarter's spending, by our calculations.
| Month | Class B shares bought | Average Class B price | Class A shares bought | Average Class A price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | 3,131,323 | $496.24 | 2,465 | $745,578.23 |
| August | 1,548,314 | $503.99 | 88 | $755,245.63 |
| September | 7,705,322 | $506.64 | 1,983 | $758,332.88 |
The Nov. 6 close is about 13% above the September average for Class B shares, by our calculations. Berkshire's program only allows purchases below intrinsic value, as the CEO conservatively determines it after consulting the chairman.
The buying continued. The same Reuters report put purchases at about $2 billion through the first four weeks of October. That fits the share count on the 10-Q cover, which works out to about 2,550 fewer Class A equivalents by Oct. 28 than at Sept. 30, by our calculations.
Berkshire still has plenty of cash. Its insurance and other businesses held $352.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and Treasury bills on Sept. 30. That figure subtracts money owed for Treasury bills bought in September that settled in October. It also comes after paying about $6.8 billion for Taylor Morrison on July 24.
How much is the June Alphabet purchase worth now?
CNBC reported that Berkshire bought $5 billion of each Alphabet share class directly from the company in June. Here's how that compares with the Nov. 6 closes.
| Share class | June price | Nov. 6 close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A (GOOGL) | $351.81 | $284.78 | -19.1% |
| Class C (GOOG) | $348.20 | $283.93 | -18.5% |
By our calculations, that $10 billion purchase would now be worth about $8.1 billion, a paper loss of about $1.9 billion, if Berkshire still holds those shares. Berkshire held about 106 million Alphabet shares on June 30, including earlier purchases made at other prices.
The 10-Q gives no share count, but it lists Alphabet among Berkshire's five largest holdings at Sept. 30, with American Express, Apple, Bank of America, and Coca-Cola. Those five made up 65% of Berkshire's equity portfolio.
Alphabet is one of two links to AI. Chief Executive Officer Greg Abel has also said Berkshire Hathaway Energy could supply power to data centers, on conditions.
Berkshire's Sept. 30 13F is due by Nov. 16. It will show whether the reported Alphabet share count changed during the third quarter, before the latest selloff.
