Berkshire Hathaway Spends $9.6 Billion on Share Buybacks as Profit Drops

Berkshire Hathaway repurchased $9.6 billion of its own stock between July and September under new chief executive Greg Abel. The company also spent about $2 billion more on buybacks in October.

Operating earnings fell almost 6 percent from a year earlier to $12.7 billion as insurance profits weakened. Net earnings dropped 28 percent to $22.11 billion, reflecting declines in insurance businesses such as Geico and lower gains on common stock investments.

“considerable uncertainty remains about”

Berkshire ended September with $356.9 billion of cash and equivalents, down from $380.2 billion six months earlier. The company owns dozens of businesses including Geico, the BNSF railroad, utilities, industrial firms, and retail brands such as Brooks running shoes, Fruit of the Loom underwear, and See’s Candies.

The number of shares outstanding fell from 1,431,693 at the end of June to 1,418,900 at the end of September, a drop of about 0.9 percent. Berkshire treats 1,500 Class B shares as the economic equivalent of one Class A share for this calculation.

Greg Abel, 64, took over as chief executive from Warren Buffett in January. Buffett, 96, remains chairman emeritus after his son Howard Buffett replaced him as chairman in September.

Many investors view the $1.21 trillion conglomerate as a barometer for the US economy. The US economy grew at an annualised 3.4 percent rate in the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.