Key Highlights
- Second quarter 2026 net profit surged 107.5% compared to the prior year, reaching $25.7 billion
- Core operating profit increased 16.3% to reach $12.9 billion during the quarter
- Strong investment performance generated $16.08 billion in gains from unrealized equity appreciation
- Share repurchases totaled $4.53 billion in the second quarter, with $4.76 billion bought back during the first half
- The company’s cash position reached an unprecedented $359.2 billion under Greg Abel’s leadership
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway delivered impressive second-quarter results on Saturday, revealing that quarterly profit more than doubled compared to last year’s period. The conglomerate’s net earnings climbed to $25.67 billion from $12.37 billion in Q2 2025.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., BRK-A
Per-share earnings on a Class B equivalent basis jumped 107.8% to reach $11.91. For Class A shareholders, earnings per share came in at $17,868, representing a significant increase from the $8,601 reported in the year-ago quarter.
A substantial portion of the earnings growth stemmed from $16.08 billion in investment gains, primarily reflecting unrealized appreciation in the company’s extensive publicly-traded stock portfolio. Major positions in companies like Apple, Alphabet, American Express, Bank of America, and Coca-Cola all drove these gains.
Core operating profit, the metric Warren Buffett has historically emphasized as the most reliable indicator of underlying business strength, increased 16.3% to $12.9 billion during the quarter.
Share Repurchase Activity Intensifies
Berkshire bought back $4.53 billion worth of its own shares in the second quarter, marking a notable increase from the more restrained first quarter activity. Combined with Q1 purchases, the company allocated $4.76 billion to buybacks in the first half of 2026.
The company’s buyback program operates under specific guidelines: shares are repurchased only when executives determine the stock price trades below intrinsic value, and the company maintains cash holdings above a minimum threshold of $30 billion.
The increased buyback activity occurred despite Berkshire’s cash reserves climbing to an all-time high of $359.2 billion by quarter-end. This suggests that CEO Greg Abel views the stock as undervalued at current levels, presenting an attractive opportunity to enhance shareholder value.
Six-Month Performance
Looking at the full first half of 2026, Berkshire’s net earnings jumped 110.7% to $35.8 billion. Operating profit grew 16.9% to $24.3 billion during the same timeframe.
On a per-share basis, net earnings for Class B equivalent shares in the first half totaled $7.87, representing a 110.8% year-over-year increase.
The company’s insurance float—representing the net insurance contract liabilities it holds—stood at approximately $177.5 billion as of June 30. This reflected an increase of roughly $1.1 billion since the end of 2025.
As of June 30, 2026, there were 1,431,693 Class A equivalent shares outstanding, demonstrating the effect of ongoing share repurchase activity.
These second quarter results were released on Saturday, August 8, 2026.
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