Berkshire's Buyback Spree Masks a Thinner Insurance Haul as 13F Deadline Nears
Published on 11/14/2026 at 03:10 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Berkshire Hathaway returned roughly $9.6 billion to shareholders through buybacks in the third quarter of 2026, even as underwriting profit at its insurance and reinsurance operations slid 42.9% to $1.35 billion. The repurchase figure, reported by the Financial Times, helped lift the conglomerate's total buybacks for the first nine months of the year to about $14.4 billion.
Cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury bills — net of certain liabilities — stood at $352.3 billion as of September 30, a war chest that continues to underwrite both the buyback program and Berkshire's broader capital allocation.
Investment Income Also Slips
Earnings from the insurance unit's investment portfolio added to the softer picture. Those returns came in at $2.73 billion, down 14% from the year-earlier quarter, according to CNBC. On the underwriting side, the reinsurance agreement with Tokio Marine covering quota-share business helped prop up premiums in property and casualty reinsurance.
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At the group level, third-quarter operating profit reached $12.7 billion, compared with $13.5 billion a year earlier — a decline of 5.8%. Net income attributable to Berkshire shareholders fell to $22.1 billion from $30.8 billion, a drop of 28.2%.
A Filing Date to Watch
Investors will get a fresh look at how Berkshire deployed its equity capital when the company files its Form 13F on November 16, 2026. The disclosure will detail holdings as of September 30, putting the third-quarter portfolio under the microscope just weeks after the earnings release.
The shares added 0.8% in the prior session, a modest rebound after a mixed quarterly report had initially weighed on pre-market trading on Monday.
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