Berkshire Hathaway Starts Putting Its Giant Cash Reserve Back to Work

Berkshire Hathaway has begun deploying significantly more of its enormous cash holdings under chief executive Greg Abel, marking one of the clearest changes since Warren Buffett stepped down from the top executive role.

The conglomerate said it bought nearly $20 billion more shares than it sold during the second quarter, ending a run of 14 consecutive quarters in which Berkshire had been a net seller of stocks.

Berkshire also repurchased about $4.5 billion of its own shares between April and June and bought more than $3.3 billion additional stock in July. Its official second-quarter release confirms the $4.5 billion repurchase figure.

Among its most important investments was an additional $10 billion commitment to Alphabet, Google's parent company. Berkshire's growing stake places the technology company among its largest equity investments.

The activity reduced Berkshire's cash and short-term investments to around $364.7 billion, down from a record $380.2 billion three months earlier.

At the same time, operating profit rose 16% to $12.98 billion, helped by improved performance at BNSF Railway and several service businesses. Net income more than doubled to $25.67 billion, although Berkshire routinely warns investors that changes in the market value of its stock portfolio make net profit unusually volatile.

Not every part of the business performed well. GEICO's pre-tax underwriting profit fell sharply as accident claims and marketing expenses increased.

Investors have been closely watching Abel for evidence of how his approach will differ from Buffett's. Buffett had allowed Berkshire's cash position to rise to extraordinary levels as attractive acquisition opportunities became harder to find.

The latest quarter suggests Berkshire may now be prepared to deploy more capital when management believes valuations are attractive - while still preserving the conservative balance sheet for which the company is known.

Source attribution: Berkshire Hathaway second-quarter results; Reuters, 8-10 August 2026.