Berkshire's $377 Billion Shrug: Profit Dips, Buybacks Double, and the Smartest Money in America Just Buys Itself
Desk: Economic, Business & Financial.
Morning Run: Monday, November 9, 2026
By Dakota Jones
Berkshire Hathaway ended the third quarter with $377.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury bills. In the same quarter, it spent about $9.6 billion buying back its own shares, more than twice what it spent in the second quarter.
Those are two signals from the Greg Abel-led Berkshire, and they point in the same direction: the company has plenty of money, but apparently not much it wants to buy at current prices. That is not a forecast. It is a notable choice from a company that has spent decades looking for attractive places to put capital.
And the quarterly results? Operating earnings dipped. Some major businesses grew. The investment-gain number fell sharply, which Berkshire itself says can be a poor guide to how its businesses are doing. Here is the go-to guide to what changed, what did not, and what Berkshire’s buyback might be saying.
What happened: weaker operating earnings, stronger buybacks
Berkshire reported $12.705 billion in operating earnings for the third quarter, down 5.8% from $13.485 billion a year earlier. Operating earnings exclude investment gains and losses, giving investors a more direct view of the company’s operating businesses.
Insurance was the main drag. Underwriting earnings fell 43% to $1.352 billion, while insurance investment income fell 14% to $2.734 billion. Meanwhile, several other major businesses posted year-over-year gains:
| Business | Q3 2026 earnings | Q3 2025 earnings |
|---|---|---|
| BNSF | $1.729 billion | $1.449 billion |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy | $1.612 billion | $1.489 billion |
| Manufacturing, service and retailing | $4.042 billion | $3.616 billion |
Berkshire’s net earnings, which include investment gains, came in at $22.112 billion, down 28% from $30.796 billion. Investment gains fell nearly 50% to $9.407 billion.
That is a big-looking drop, but it needs context. Berkshire warns that quarterly investment gains are “usually meaningless” as a measure of business performance and can mislead investors unfamiliar with accounting rules. Changes in unrealized gains, for example, can move reported earnings around without reflecting the quarter’s operating results. The distinction matters. A headline number is not always the most useful number.
Greg Abel leads Berkshire as CEO, following Warren Buffett’s step back from the role.
Then there were the buybacks. Berkshire repurchased about $9.6 billion of its own stock in the third quarter, up from $4.5 billion in the second. That brought buybacks for the first nine months of 2026 to about $14.4 billion.
The cash pile still grew. It stood at $377.4 billion on September 30, up from $365.5 billion at the end of the second quarter. There is a useful qualification: CNBC, citing the filing, reported that cash holdings were $352.3 billion when railroad and utility cash and Treasury-bill payables are excluded. That narrower figure was down 1.9% quarter over quarter. The headline total and the adjusted figure use different definitions, so they should not be casually swapped.
Why it matters: Berkshire’s restraint is part of the story
What you can learn from these results is not that Berkshire has stopped investing. It is that Berkshire’s choices about capital are being watched as closely as its earnings.
The company has one of the largest corporate liquidity reserves anywhere. Yet in the quarter, it made a substantial investment in itself. A buyback reduces the number of shares outstanding, which can increase each remaining shareholder’s proportional ownership. But buybacks are most compelling when management believes the shares are attractively priced and the company has no better use for the cash.
That makes the scale of this quarter’s repurchases noteworthy. When a company holding hundreds of billions in cash buys its own stock at this pace, investors naturally ask what it sees in the broader market. The answer may be simple: not enough opportunities at prices it considers attractive. That is a reasonable interpretation, not a claim that Berkshire has disclosed its thinking on every possible deal.
Buybacks can return capital to shareholders, but they also reflect management’s view of where the company sees value.
The market backdrop adds another layer. CNBC reported that Berkshire Class A shares were up more than 12% over the past month, while the S&P 500 fell 5.5% over the same period. Year to date, Berkshire was up 13%, compared with 7.8% for the index.
CNBC connected the recent outperformance to a rotation out of technology stocks. That is relevant in a market where investors have been weighing the valuations and concentration of AI-related stocks. But a rotation is a market explanation, not proof that AI stocks caused Berkshire’s gains or that the trend will continue. Markets are usually less tidy than the story people tell about them afterward.
For Berkshire, the contrast is striking: while parts of the market reassess high-growth technology valuations, this sprawling collection of insurance, railroad, energy, manufacturing, service and retail businesses is drawing attention for its balance sheet and buybacks. It is not a promise of safety. It is a different profile, and investors appear to be paying attention.
FAQ: the essentials
Did Berkshire’s operating businesses collapse?
No. Operating earnings declined 5.8%. Insurance earnings fell, while BNSF, energy, and manufacturing, service and retailing reported higher earnings than a year earlier.
Why did net earnings fall more than operating earnings?
Net earnings include investment gains. Those gains fell to $9.407 billion, and Berkshire cautions that quarterly investment gains can be misleading as a measure of operating performance.
Does the $377.4 billion mean Berkshire will make a major acquisition?
Not necessarily. It shows substantial liquidity, not a commitment to spend it. The quarter’s buybacks show one use of capital Berkshire chose.
Are buybacks automatically good for shareholders?
No. They can increase each remaining shareholder’s proportional ownership, but their value depends on price and what alternative uses the company has for its money.
Verdict: the message is the choice
Berkshire’s third quarter was not a clean victory lap. Operating earnings fell, insurance weakened, and net earnings slid sharply. But BNSF, energy and manufacturing-related businesses grew, and Berkshire accelerated its buybacks while keeping a huge reserve of liquidity.
The punchline is hard to miss: the smartest money in America is sitting on a mountain of Treasury bills and buying itself instead. That is either cowardice or the most honest market call of 2026. We will not pretend the earnings release settles which one.
For more coverage, visit LD3’s Economic, Business & Financial desk.