Berkshire Hathaway more than doubles buybacks in third quarter as earnings decline

Berkshire Hathaway more than doubled its share buybacks in the third quarter, repurchasing $9.6 billion of its own stock as operating and overall earnings declined. The increase brings its 2026 buybacks to about $14.4 billion and signals a larger use of capital for repurchases during a quarter when insurance profits weakened.

Operating earnings fell 5.8% year on year to $12.705 billion. Insurance underwriting profit dropped 43% to $1.352 billion and investment income fell 14% to $2.734 billion, while railroad, energy and manufacturing earnings rose. Overall earnings declined 28% to $22.112 billion, with investment gains nearly halving to $9.407 billion; Berkshire shares gained more than 12% over the past month as the S&P 500 fell 5.5%.