BRK.A
The new Berkshire question
Six months after Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO, Berkshire Hathaway investors aren’t just peeking at earnings — they’re trying to read the tea leaves on Greg Abel’s style. And the biggest tea leaf is buybacks.
Barron’s estimates Berkshire may have spent somewhere between $5 billion and $11 billion repurchasing stock in the second quarter, which would be a serious step up from the $234.2 million it spent in Q1 after resuming buybacks. In Berkshire-land, that’s not just a number. That’s a signal.
Cash mountain, meet capital allocation
Berkshire ended Q1 sitting on a record $397 billion in cash and equivalents. That giant pile gives Abel a lot of room to maneuver — but also a lot of pressure to prove he can put capital to work without making Buffett-style shrine mistakes.
The company has already been busy:
- It invested $10 billion in Alphabet
- It completed an $8.5 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home
- It added positions in Delta Air Lines and Macy’s
- It exited more than 15 holdings
That mix suggests the new boss may be moving a little faster — and a little broader — than the old one did.
Why investors care
Wall Street expects second-quarter earnings to come in a bit softer year over year, so the headline number may not be the main event. If Berkshire shows a meaningful jump in repurchases, it could tell investors two things at once: management thinks the stock is attractive here, and Abel is comfortable using Berkshire’s monster cash pile more aggressively.
Big picture: Berkshire doesn’t just run on earnings. It runs on vibes, discipline, and billion-dollar capital moves — and this weekend, the buyback line item may be the loudest part of the story.