Greg Abel’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) appears to have dramatically accelerated its share repurchase program during the second quarter of 2026.
A Barron’s analysis of Warren Buffett’s SEC filings in July indicates Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A share count declined by around 11,000 between April 14 and July 14.
The total dollar value of those repurchases could reach as high as $11 billion, according to Barron’s estimates based on share price averages during the period.
If confirmed, the buyback would surpass the previous quarterly record set in the fourth quarter of 2020, when Buffett bought back $9 billion worth of Berkshire stock.
Earlier this year, Abel announced that Berkshire resumed its share repurchase program in March, but the first-quarter earnings report revealed just $235 million in total repurchases that month.
That modest figure disappointed many investors, given Berkshire’s market capitalization exceeds $1 trillion, making $235 million essentially a rounding error at that scale.
Berkshire’s share repurchase authorization only permits buybacks when “Berkshire’s Chief Executive Officer, after consultation with the Chairman of the Board, believes that the repurchase price is below Berkshire’s intrinsic value, conservatively determined.”
Berkshire Class A shares averaged approximately $721,000 per share between April 14 and the end of the quarter, representing the best available estimate for the average purchase price during the repurchase period.
The stock currently trades at just 1.5 times book value based on data from the end of Q1, with that figure potentially closer to 1.4 times book value using more current data.
Berkshire’s marketable equity portfolio has grown significantly in value, approaching $360 billion, yet the stock has remained relatively flat through the first half of 2026.
Railroad and insurance stocks have climbed higher during that same stretch, making Berkshire’s flat performance appear increasingly difficult to justify given the underlying portfolio strength.
A buyback of this magnitude would also help reduce the massive cash pile sitting on the company’s balance sheet, a move many shareholders have been anticipating for some time.
Exact figures on the Q2 repurchase activity will not be available until Berkshire releases its full second-quarter earnings results, and due to rounding, the actual total could differ from current estimates.
