Abel puts a big chunk of Berkshire's cash to work — SkimNews
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- Greg Abel oversaw Berkshire's cash pile falling to $365.5 billion as of June 30, down 8.0% from the record $397.4 billion at March 31 — the first significant drawdown since early 2022.
- Berkshire Hathaway repurchased $4.5 billion of its own shares in Q2, well above the $235 million spent in Q1 and the first buybacks since 2024, though below Barron's $5–$11 billion estimate and UBS's $8.5 billion forecast.
- Berkshire became a net buyer of equities for the first time in 14 quarters, adding $20 billion net including the announced $10 billion investment in Alphabet.
- Operating earnings rose 16% to $12.98 billion, with Berkshire Hathaway Energy up 27% and BNSF up 6%, while insurance underwriting earnings fell 13% and GEICO underwriting profits dropped 45%.
- Berkshire trimmed its DaVita stake by about 183,000 shares under a 2024 agreement capping its holding at 45%, receiving $36.5 million at a volume-weighted average price just under $200 per share.
- CFRA's Cathy Seifert called the buybacks 'Greg's way of taking the helm and asserting himself,' while Gabelli's Macrae Sykes said material repurchases signal that top allocators see current value.
Why it matters: Abel's first major capital deployment as CEO — $4.5 billion in buybacks plus a $20 billion net equity buildup — breaks the cash-hoarding pattern that defined the Buffett era and signals a more active allocation stance. With Berkshire's cash down 8% to $365.5 billion in a single quarter, the world is watching whether this pace becomes the new norm for one of the largest pools of deployable capital.
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