TL;DR - Q2 net income surged 107% to USD 25.67B; operating earnings rose 16% to USD 12.98B, substantially driven by currency tailwinds - Greg Abel ended Berkshire's 14-quarter net-selling streak with USD 19.8B in net equity purchases - USD 10B added to Alphabet during Q2, making GOOGL Berkshire's 5th-largest equity holding - Share buybacks hit USD 4.53B in Q2 — highest since 2021 — plus USD 3.3B+ more in July - Cash fell from USD 397.4B to USD 365.5B; Apple trimmed to ~20% of portfolio (down from 50%+)
Earnings Snapshot
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) reported second-quarter 2026 net income of USD 25.67 billion on Saturday, more than doubling the USD 12.37 billion posted in Q2 2025. Investment gains of approximately USD 12.7 billion (after-tax; derived as net income less operating earnings) were the primary driver of the surge. Operating earnings — the metric Berkshire management favors as the truest measure of business performance, stripping out stock market fluctuations — rose 16.3% year over year to USD 12.98 billion (approximately USD 9,038 per Class A share equivalent, or USD 6.03 per B-share equivalent), exceeding the USD 5.24 per B-share consensus estimate.
Note on FX: Currency movements accounted for approximately 66% of the reported rise in operating earnings. Adjusting for this, constant-currency operating growth was roughly 5–6%. Investors should weigh this when assessing underlying business momentum.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Income | USD 25.67B | USD 12.37B | +107% |
| Operating Earnings | USD 12.98B | USD 11.16B | +16.3% |
| Cash, Equiv. & T-Bills | USD 365.5B | — | −USD 31.9B vs Q1 2026 |
| Q2 Share Buybacks | USD 4.53B | Near-zero | Highest since 2021 |
Abel's Capital Deployment: A Strategic Pivot
The headline from Berkshire's Q2 report is not the earnings beat — it is the end of a prolonged defensive posture that defined the Buffett era's final years. For 14 consecutive quarters, Berkshire was a net seller of equities, quietly accumulating a cash hoard that peaked at USD 397.4 billion by the end of Q1 2026.
That era is over.
In Q2 2026, Berkshire made net equity purchases of approximately USD 19.8 billion, reversing course in decisive fashion under CEO Greg Abel, who assumed leadership in January 2026 when Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO while retaining the board chairmanship. Abel, 64, is putting his own stamp on capital allocation, shifting from years of defensive cash accumulation toward active deployment.
Alphabet: The Marquee Bet
The single largest disclosed move was approximately USD 10 billion deployed into Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) during Q2 2026, making it Berkshire's fifth-largest equity holding. Beyond Alphabet, Berkshire added over USD 21 billion in commercial, industrial, and other stocks during the quarter, though those positions were not individually disclosed in the earnings report.
The Alphabet investment reflects Berkshire's conviction in AI-driven advertising and cloud monetization as long-duration compounders — the type of business characteristics that Berkshire has historically prized.
Buybacks Resume at Scale
Berkshire repurchased USD 4.53 billion of its own shares in Q2 2026, the highest quarterly buyback figure since 2021, with most execution occurring in June. First-half 2026 repurchases totaled approximately USD 4.77 billion (Q1: USD 235 million; Q2: USD 4.53 billion) — compared to near-zero in the first half of 2025. The conglomerate executed an additional USD 3.3 billion-plus in repurchases in July, extending the acceleration into H2 2026.
CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert called the buyback resumption "an encouraging signal" alongside the company's operating growth, noting it as evidence that Abel is building stakeholder confidence in his leadership.
Acquisitions: Taylor Morrison and OxyChem
Beyond equity markets, Berkshire closed two significant acquisitions in 2026:
- OxyChem (Occidental Petroleum's chemicals division): approximately USD 9.7 billion, diversifying Berkshire into specialty chemicals at scale.
- Taylor Morrison (homebuilder): USD 6.8 billion acquisition (equity value), completed July 24, 2026 — a bet on persistent U.S. housing supply constraints and demographic tailwinds for new-home construction.
Operating Segments
Note: The four segments below represent major business group earnings; operating earnings also include insurance investment income and other items not shown in this table. All figures are approximate as reported.
| Segment | Q2 2026 Earnings | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing, Services & Retail | USD 4.47B | +24% |
| Berkshire Hathaway Energy | USD 891M | +27% |
| BNSF Railroad | USD 1.56B | +6% |
| Insurance Underwriting | USD 1.73B | −13% vs Q2 2025 |
Manufacturing, services, and retail delivered strong results. Energy also posted solid gains.
Insurance is the soft spot. The underwriting segment fell 13% year over year to USD 1.73 billion, weighed by GEICO's elevated claims costs. GEICO's loss ratio stood at 76.6%, reflecting ongoing pressure from auto claims inflation that has weighed on the segment since 2022. Berkshire's insurance float — investable capital generated by holding policyholder premiums before claims are paid — stood at USD 177.5 billion at quarter-end.
Portfolio Reshaping: Apple Trimmed, New Bets Added
The most visible sign of Abel's different instincts is the Apple position. What once represented more than 50% of Berkshire's entire equity portfolio has been trimmed to roughly 20%. Bank of America, once a flagship holding, has been reduced since mid-2024, standing at approximately USD 32.49 billion.
The shift suggests Abel is reducing concentration risk accumulated under Buffett's historic Apple bet while pivoting toward Alphabet's AI-infrastructure growth story and deploying cash into hard assets through OxyChem and Taylor Morrison.
Investment Implications
Three watch points for H2 2026 and beyond:
Deployment pace: Abel executed USD 3.3 billion-plus in additional buybacks in July. Berkshire's USD 365.5 billion cash position, combined with USD 10–12 billion of quarterly operating cash generation, leaves ample firepower for continued equity purchases and potential acquisitions. Each quarterly 13-F filing will be closely scrutinized for new portfolio moves.
Insurance recovery: GEICO's 76.6% loss ratio remains the primary underwriting drag. Improvement toward historical norms — as claims cost inflation subsides — would be a meaningful tailwind for operating earnings in coming quarters.
Apple stake trajectory: At approximately 20% of the portfolio, Apple remains Berkshire's single largest equity holding. Whether Abel continues to trim — or views this level as a floor — will be revealed in the Q3 2026 13-F filing, due November 2026.
BRK.B shares closed at approximately USD 520.90 on Friday, August 7, having hit a 52-week high earlier in the week ahead of the Saturday earnings release.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All financial data sourced from company filings and publicly available reports.
Sources
- CNBC — Berkshire Hathaway earnings Q2 2026
- BigGo Finance — Berkshire Q2 Net Profit Doubles, Abel Bets USD 10B on Alphabet
- CryptoBriefing — Berkshire Hathaway Q2 2026 Earnings
- Fortune — Berkshire Hathaway cash pile, Alphabet stock
- Yahoo Finance — Greg Abel spends chunk of cash pile
- 247 Wall St — Berkshire Just Did Something It Hasn't Done in 3 Years
- Seeking Alpha — Berkshire Q2 cash drops amid buybacks
