" Berkshire Hathaway’s Earnings Report Is Coming. What to Expect.
 
Berkshire Hathaway’s stock repurchase activity could be the most important figure in the company’s second-quarter earnings report, which is expected out on Saturday. A July securities filing by Chairman Warren Buffett indicated that Berkshire repurchased from $5 billion to $11 billion of stock in the quarter.

 
• First-quarter repurchases were $235 million, the first time the company bought back stock since May 2024. The more buybacks in the period, the more bullish for the stock. Berkshire shares lag the S&P 500’s 14% total return this year and stocks of companies like Union Pacific, Chubb, and NextEra.

 
• Berkshire hasn’t said its results will be out on Saturday, but that should be the day based on the history of its second-quarter profit releases. It discloses the date a few days before. Wall Street expects Berkshire’s earnings to fall by about 3% to $7,553 a class A share.

 
• UBS analyst Brian Meredith is projecting a 3% gain—almost $8,000 a class A share—driven by buybacks; higher earnings at railroad unit BNSF; and lower catastrophe losses at Berkshire’s big property and casualty insurance businesses.

 
• Wall Street also will be focused on Berkshire’s investment activity and cash levels. The company surprised Wall Street when it bought $10 billion of Alphabet stock in June at below $350 a share as part of the search giant’s $85 billion equity capital raise. Alphabet shares are now close to $360.

 
What’s Next: The second-quarter 10-Q filing probably will be released on Saturday, too. It will lay out the size of Berkshire’s equity purchases and sales, but probably not detail individual securities. Those names will come in Berkshire’s 13-F report, which is expected on Aug. 14.

 
—Andrew Bary "