Berkshire Operating Earnings Rise 16% in Second Quarter. Buybacks Hit $4.5 Billion. - Barron's
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- Berkshire Hathaway posted a 16% rise in second-quarter operating earnings, per Barron's headline
- Berkshire repurchased $4.5 billion of stock during the quarter, per Barron's headline
- Greg Abel, Berkshire's new CEO, began deploying a chunk of the company's massive cash pile, per WSJ and Dallas News headlines
- The earnings beat coincided with the leadership transition, framing Abel's first full quarter as a capital-return moment rather than a pure operating update
Why it matters: For Berkshire shareholders, the quarter marks a shift in posture: new CEO Greg Abel is actively deploying the cash stockpile through $4.5 billion in buybacks on top of a 16% jump in operating earnings. Together those figures show a more aggressive capital-return stance than the cash-hoarding posture that defined the Buffett era.
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