Berkshire Hathaway buys back US$9.6-billion of stock as profits declined

Detailed summary

Company reported a US$22.1-billion profit, or US$15,502 per Class A share, on Saturday

Berkshire Hathaway BRK-B-N repurchased US$9.6-billion worth of its own shares in the third quarter, but Geico disappointed and its overall profit fell more than 28% as the value of its investments changed.

But the buybacks likely came to a halt recently as Berkshire’s Class A stock price surged past US$878,000 and topped where it was before Warren Buffett surprised investors with his plans to retire at the annual meeting in May, 2025. He gave up the chairman title in September after relinquishing the CEO job to Greg Abel in January.

Berkshire’s massive cash pile also returned to growing in the third quarter and reached US$377.4-billion, up from US$365.5-billion at the end of June.

Berkshire reported a US$22.1-billion profit, or US$15,502 per Class A share, on Saturday morning. That’s down from US$30.8 billion, or US$21,413 in last year’s third quarter, but those bottom-line figures always…

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Globe and Mail (Report on Business). To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.