Berkshire Hathaway ended June with $364.7 billion in cash and Treasury bills, marking a 4% decrease from three months earlier and the first quarterly drop in the conglomerate’s cash holdings in four years, according to WSJ via the dailyhodl.com. The reduction in the massive cash stockpile was driven by strategic deployment, including a $10 billion investment in Morningstar and the purchase of Taylor Morrison Home.
Berkshire Hathaway Cash Reserves Contract for First Time in Four Years
Greg Abel took over as CEO at the beginning of the year, while Warren Buffett remains chairman, overseeing a period marked by active capital deployment and rising quarterly earnings.
Surging Second-Quarter Earnings and Operating Profit
Berkshire Hathaway reported second-quarter earnings of almost $25.7 billion—specifically $25.67 billion—more than double the $12.37 billion reported in the same period of 2025, boosted by higher operating profits and investment portfolio gains, as detailed by dailyhodl.com.
Adjusted operating earnings, which exclude investment gains and losses to better reflect the firm’s underlying earnings power, rose 16.3% year over year to $12.98 billion, up from $11.16 billion in the prior-year period. Per-share operating income climbed 16.5% for the quarter. Adjusted operating revenue increased 10.0% year over year to $101.8 billion, according to Morningstar.
Stepped-Up Stock Purchases and Share Buybacks
For the first time in nearly three years, Berkshire Hathaway operated as a net buyer of equities during the second quarter. The company offset $3.7 billion in equity sales with $23.5 billion in purchases of common stock in publicly traded companies, according to Morningstar.
The investment activity included adding $10 billion in dailyhodl.com shares, which involved an agreement to buy $5 billion of Class A shares at $351.81 per share and $5 billion of Class C stock at $348.20 per share, alongside additional purchases of the Sogo Shoshas and the acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion at $72.50 per share.
Share repurchase activity also accelerated during the quarter:
- Acquired just over $4.5 billion in Treasury shares during the second quarter.
- Bought back 478 Class A shares for $350 million.
- Purchased 8.6 million Class B shares for $4.2 billion.
- Brought year-to-date share repurchases to close to $4.8 billion.
Insurance Float and Segment Performance
Insurance operations remained Berkshire’s most significant business by operating earnings, although lower earnings at GEICO weighed on growth, and Ajit Jain continued in his role as Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations. Berkshire’s insurance float reached $177.5 billion, representing an increase of about $1.1 billion compared to the end of 2025. Float per share rose to $123,979, up from $122,373 at the close of the previous year.
Chief Executive Officer Greg Abel noted during the annual meeting that the insurance industry is encountering a more challenging environment with increased capital entering the sector, leading to expectations of a softening market for the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, the manufacturing, service, and retailing division achieved decent revenue growth, aided by the closing of the OxyChem acquisition at the beginning of the year and year-over-year margin improvements.
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