Berkshire Hathaway substantially increased its capital deployment during the first half of 2026, purchasing $39.4 billion of equity securities while also accelerating repurchases of its own shares to approximately $4.5 billion during the second quarter.
Berkshire purchased $39.405 billion of equity securities during the first six months of 2026, up sharply from $7.092 billion in the same period last year. It sold $27.780 billion of equities, compared with $11.592 billion a year earlier, making Berkshire a net buyer of approximately $11.6 billion of stocks during the first half.
The increased investment activity coincided with a notable change among Berkshire’s largest public equity holdings. As of June 30, the company’s five largest positions were Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. Those five holdings accounted for 66% of the aggregate fair value of Berkshire’s equity securities, up from 65% at the end of 2025.
Berkshire’s overall equity securities portfolio had a fair value of approximately $323.8 billion at the end of June, compared with $297.8 billion at year-end. Its aggregate cost basis increased to $106.5 billion from $85.4 billion.
At the same time, Berkshire sharply accelerated purchases of its own stock. The company acquired approximately $4.527 billion of common stock during Q2, compared with only $235 million during the first quarter. Berkshire had made no share repurchases during the first six months of 2025.
Most of Berkshire’s approximately $4.8 billion of first-half repurchases therefore occurred during the second quarter. The company’s repurchase policy permits buybacks when its CEO, after consulting with the chairman, determines that Berkshire shares are trading below a conservatively calculated estimate of intrinsic value.
The filing provides a detailed look at the prices Berkshire was willing to pay. During May, the company repurchased 65 Class A shares at an average price of approximately $716,231 and about 1.46 million Class B shares at an average of $476.01. In June, Berkshire purchased another 413 Class A shares at an average of approximately $733,775 and roughly 7.14 million Class B shares at an average of $487.98.
Berkshire maintained its large liquidity position despite the combination of public-stock purchases, share repurchases and acquisitions. Its insurance and other businesses held approximately $359.2 billion of cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury bills, net of unsettled purchase obligations, at June 30.
The company also deployed significant capital into acquisitions. Berkshire completed its approximately $9.4 billion purchase of OxyChem in January and subsequently completed its approximately $6.8 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison in July, representing more than $16 billion of additional acquisition spending.
Berkshire generated $21.7 billion of operating cash flow during the first six months of 2026 and spent $10.6 billion on property, plant, equipment and equipment held for lease. Berkshire Hathaway Energy and BNSF accounted for $6.7 billion of those capital expenditures and expect another approximately $8.6 billion of spending during the remainder of 2026.
The combination of $39.4 billion of equity purchases, approximately $4.8 billion of Berkshire share repurchases and more than $16 billion committed to OxyChem and Taylor Morrison shows a significant increase in capital deployment even as Berkshire retains one of the largest corporate liquidity positions in the world.
KEY QUOTES:
“We continue to believe that maintaining ample liquidity is paramount and insist on safety over yield with respect to short-term investments.”
“Financial strength and redundant liquidity will always be of paramount importance at Berkshire.”
Berkshire Hathaway statement
