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Berkshire bought back about $9.6 billion of its stock in the third quarter, its biggest quarter ever, at an average of $503.68 per Class B share.

Operating earnings fell 5.8% to $12.7 billion as insurance profits dropped, while BNSF, energy and the industrial businesses grew.

A retiree with 500 shares bought in 2016 holds $285,445; selling 20 shares a year would raise about $11,418 for about $1,272 in federal tax.

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Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) bought back about $9.6 billion of its own shares in the third quarter, the most it has ever spent on its stock in a single quarter. The figure came in the company's quarterly report on Saturday morning, and it tops the roughly $9.3 billion Berkshire spent in the third quarter of 2020.

It is also the first big buyback under the new leadership. Greg Abel became chief executive at the start of 2026, and in September Warren Buffett became chairman emeritus, with the board electing his son Howard Buffett as chairman. Under Berkshire's rules, the CEO approves repurchases after consulting the chairman, and only when he believes the stock is trading below what the business is worth.

Warren Buffett
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Take a 70-year-old retiree who bought 500 Class B shares on Nov. 7, 2016, at $146.91 a share, a $73,455 investment. At Friday's close of $570.89, those shares are worth $285,445. Berkshire pays no dividend, so this retiree's question is practical: what does Saturday's report say about the company, and how do you turn shares that pay nothing into income?

What Berkshire reported
Operating earnings, the profit from Berkshire's businesses before investment gains and losses, were $12.7 billion in the quarter, down 5.8% from $13.5 billion a year earlier. Over the first nine months they were $37.0 billion, up 8.0%.

The quarter split two ways:

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