Berkshire Hathaway slashed its cash reserves to $364.7 billion in the second quarter as new CEO Greg Abel accelerated share repurchases and deployed nearly $20 billion into equities, including a major investment in Google parent Alphabet, according to reports published on August 8, 2026.
For decades, legendary investor Warren Buffett built a reputation for hoarding liquidity while struggling to find attractively priced assets in a stretched market. Following Buffett’s transition to chairman and the appointment of Greg Abel as chief executive at the start of the year, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate is beginning to alter that rhythm. The sprawling industrial, railroad, and insurance giant reported a significant shift in capital allocation, pairing a 16% jump in quarterly operating earnings to $12.98 billion with an aggressive reduction in its cash pile.
Greg Abel Accelerates Buybacks and Deploys Billions Into Alphabet
The pivot away from pure cash accumulation became clear as Abel revived and expanded share repurchases. After a nearly two-year hiatus that ended in March, Berkshire repurchased $4.5 billion of its own stock between April and June, followed by more than $3.3 billion more in July. Total repurchases since the end of March crossed the $7.8 billion threshold.
This renewed appetite for buybacks satisfies market watchers who had anticipated a more proactive approach to capital return. Berkshire’s policy dictates that repurchases occur when the stock price sits below intrinsic value, a metric conservatively determined by Abel after consultation with Buffett. While Buffett remains involved in decision-making, analysts note that the pace reflects Abel quietly making his mark.
“Slowly, gradually and subtly we’re seeing Greg assert himself as the new leader.”
Cathy Seifert, analyst at CFRA Research
Alongside share buybacks, Abel broke from Buffett’s traditional aversion to major technology holdings by substantially building out a position in Alphabet. Berkshire poured a $10 billion addition into Google’s parent company, following an estimated $13 billion investment earlier in the year. Buffett recently explained that the attraction lies in Alphabet’s high-margin advertising funding cloud computing and artificial intelligence data center build-outs, generating tremendous returns on invested capital.
Operating Profit Rises as Railroads and Services Offset Geico Weakness
Underneath the headline-grabbing stock purchases, Berkshire’s operating businesses showed resilience. Quarterly revenue climbed 10% to $101.81 billion, supported by solid improvements across the board. The BNSF railroad, NetJets luxury plane unit, and TTI electronic components distributor all posted gains that successfully cushioned weakness at the Geico auto insurance arm.
Insurance underwriting proved to be a challenging spot. Underwriting earnings fell from a year earlier, and insurance investment income declined. Nevertheless, the conglomerate’s bottom-line net income more than doubled to $25.67 billion, or about $17,928 per Class A share, surging past the previous year’s $12.37 billion. That massive bottom-line expansion was driven largely by paper gains on Berkshire’s $323.8 billion stock portfolio as the company lapped prior writedowns.
Shrinking Liquidity and Market Performance
The combined effect of purchasing nearly $20 billion more equities than it sold, executing billions in buybacks, and funding corporate transactions brought a notable contraction to the company’s legendary cash reserves. Berkshire ended June with $364.7 billion in cash and equivalents, dropping down from a record $380.2 billion three months prior. That figure includes the $6.8 billion allocated for the acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison, which closed in July and will register in subsequent filings.
