Berkshire Hathaway reported operating earnings of $12.98 billion in the second quarter, up from $11.16 billion in the same period a year earlier, representing a 16% increase. The conglomerate’s diversified businesses showed mixed results, with manufacturing, service and retailing earnings jumping 24% to $4.47 billion and Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s profit surging 27% to $891 million. The railroad division BNSF posted a 6% increase in earnings to $1.56 billion. Insurance operations presented a weakness, as underwriting earnings declined 13% to $1.73 billion from $1.99 billion year-over-year, while insurance investment income fell 9% to $3.06 billion.
CEO Abel, 64, who assumed leadership at the start of the year, began deploying the substantial cash reserves built by former leader Warren Buffett. The company repurchased approximately $4.5 billion of its own shares during the quarter, marking a significant acceleration from the $235 million spent on buybacks in the first three months of 2026. Berkshire’s cash position declined to $365.5 billion at the end of June from a record $397.4 billion three months prior, as the company deployed capital through various investments and acquisitions, including the closing of the Taylor Morrison acquisition.
In a notable shift in investment strategy, Berkshire became a net buyer of equities in the second quarter with nearly $20 billion in net purchases, reversing a pattern of selling stocks that had persisted for 14 consecutive quarters. The filing revealed that Alphabet had become one of Berkshire’s five largest equity holdings by market value at the end of June, alongside long-standing positions in American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. The company had disclosed a $10 billion investment in the Google parent earlier in the year to support AI development.
Berkshire shares rose 3% for the year, underperforming the S&P 500’s 13% gain, though the stock advanced 9% over the preceding three months. The results highlighted Abel’s willingness to deploy capital from Buffett’s cash fortress, accumulated in accordance with conservative investment principles and difficulty finding equity market values.
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