Berkshire’s Greg Abel Spent $14.4 Billion on Buffett’s Favorite Stock
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Number That Matters: $14.4 Billion in Buybacks
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B | BRK-B Price Prediction) has reportedly spent $14.4 billion buying back its own shares so far in 2026. For decades, the stock Warren Buffett owned with the most conviction was Berkshire itself. Now his successor is spending billions on it. The $14.4 billion is a reported year-to-date repurchase total. It is the first full measure of how Greg Abel, who has taken over leadership from Warren Buffett, uses the company’s cash. Berkshire’s own filings back up the rate: about $4.8 billion in buybacks over the first six months, followed by $9.6 billion in third-quarter share repurchases.
What It Means: A Cash Pile Goes to Work
This figure marks a reversal. In the third quarter of 2025, Berkshire refrained from buybacks and remained a net seller of equities while cash reserves stood at $381.6 billion. By the first quarter of 2026, cash stood at $380 billion.
Then the money started moving. Berkshire resumed buybacks in early 2026. It became a net buyer of stocks for the first time in over three years during the second quarter, putting about $23.5 billion into equities, including a $10 billion private placement in Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Over the full year so far, Berkshire has gone from $10.6 billion in net stock sales in 2025 to roughly $11.2 billion in net purchases in 2026.
Abel has also bought shares with his own money: he made a $15 million personal investment in Berkshire shares. Berkshire has long said it buys back stock only when management believes the shares trade below intrinsic value. Spending $14.4 billion on its own stock is a clear signal of what the new CEO thinks the company is worth.
The businesses behind those shares are also making more. Second-quarter operating earnings rose to $12.98 billion from $11.16 billion a year earlier. Manufacturing, service, and retailing making $4,470 million versus $3,601 million. Berkshire Hathaway Energy making $891 million versus $702 million, and BNSF making $1,558 million versus $1,466 million.
Market Reaction: Shares Climb as Buying Continues
Class B shares rose 4.02% over the past week, from $556.11 to $578.46. Over the past month they gained 12.19%, and they are up 15.08% year to date. In today’s session the stock was up 0.56%. After the latest earnings report, CNBC reported that Berkshire shares rose as Wall Street swooned amid AI fears, and Morningstar noted that cash levels retreated again as acquisitions and share buybacks picked up.
Bull Case: Buybacks at a Modest Valuation
Abel is buying at a price that looks reasonable. Berkshire trades at a P/E of 12 and a price-to-book ratio of 1.13, with an earnings yield of 8.27%. At those levels, every share retired increases each remaining holder’s stake in the railroad, the utility, the insurance float and the industrial businesses.
The balance sheet can easily absorb the spending. Debt-to-equity stands at 0.19 and interest coverage at 11.62. Insurance float grew to $176 billion at the end of 2025.
There are softer spots. During the second quarter, insurance underwriting declined year over year, and net income fell 16.65%. Management has warned that investment gains are “usually meaningless”, though, and operating earnings are the better measure of how the businesses are doing. On that measure the trend is improving, and capital is coming back to shareholders after years of waiting.
Bottom Line: Buying Continued Into October
The buying continued. Reuters reported about $2 billion in repurchases during October, on top of the third-quarter total. That answers the biggest question long-term holders have about the post-Buffett era: what happens to the cash. With a market value of about $1.222 trillion, Berkshire is now spending heavily on the asset its leadership knows best. Abel’s first major capital decision has been to buy more Berkshire; the next quarterly filing will show whether repurchases continue.
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After two decades of patrolling the dark corners of suburbia as a police officer, Rich Duprey hung up his badge and gun to begin writing full time about stocks and investing. For the past 20 years, he’s been cruising the markets looking for companies to lock up as long-term holdings in a portfolio while writing extensively on the broad sectors of consumer goods, technology, and industrials. Because his experience isn’t from the typical financial analyst track, Rich is able to break down complex topics into understandable and useful action points for the average investor. His writings have appeared on The Motley Fool, InvestorPlace, Yahoo! Finance, Money Morning, and, of course, 24/7 Wall St. He has been featured in both U.S. and international publications, including MarketWatch, Financial Times, Forbes, Fast Company, and USA Today.
