Investing.com – Berkshire Hathaway Inc. drew down its record cash pile to $364.7 billion in the second quarter as Chief Executive Officer Greg Abel ramped up stock repurchases to $4.53 billion and oversaw a doubling in net profit.
Moving aggressively into the equity market, Berkshire became a net buyer of stocks for the first time in 15 quarters, deploying billions into top holdings such as Alphabet Inc..
Simultaneously, the conglomerate repurchased $4.53 billion of its own shares in the three months through June – a noticeable step up from the subdued activity in the first quarter.
Berkshire started buying back its own shares in the first quarter for the first time in more than a year.
The shift in capital allocation marks a notable pivot from the prior quarter, when Berkshire held a record net cash and Treasury trove of approximately $380 billion.
This signals Abel’s willingness to deploy capital when he sees the stock trading below intrinsic value, even as he maintains a massive cash cushion. Under Berkshire’s long-standing policy, repurchases are executed at management’s discretion provided cash holdings remain above a $30 billion threshold.
The increased buyback activity suggests Abel found market valuations attractive enough to retire shares, while still preserving vast balance sheet firepower for future large-scale deals or economic downturns.
Operating profit across Berkshire’s sprawling network of businesses rose 16% to $12.98 billion. The growth was driven by operational improvements at the BNSF railway, aviation provider NetJets, and electronics distributor TTI, which helped offset profit weakness at auto insurer GEICO.
Net income attributable to shareholders rose to $25.67 billion, or $17,868 per Class A equivalent share, up from $12.37 billion ($8,601 per Class A share) in the same period a year earlier.
The gain was driven by $16.08 billion in investment gains, largely reflecting unrealized appreciation across its core public stock holdings, led by top positions including Alphabet Apple, American Express, Bank of America, and The Coca-Cola Company.
The figures provide a key operational checkpoint under Abel, who assumed the top executive role from Warren Buffett at the start of the year and has continued his predecessor’s approach of balancing short-term U.S. Treasuries with targeted industrial investments.
Beyond operating income, market focus centers on Abel’s deployment strategy, specifically as Berkshire resumed meaningful share repurchases and expanded its remaining stock portfolio.
