Berkshire Hathaway more than doubles buybacks in third quarter as earnings decline

Berkshire Hathaway reported a 5.8% decline in third-quarter operating earnings, which fell to $12.7 billion from $13.48 billion the previous year, according to Bloomberg and Investing.com. Investing.com noted that the decrease was primarily driven by lower insurance underwriting earnings across carrier units, which offset operating profit growth seen at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the BNSF Railway freight network, and certain industrial manufacturing subsidiaries.

During the third quarter, the conglomerate accelerated its share repurchase program, spending approximately $9.6 billion to buy back its own shares. Investing.com reported that this amount represents the company's largest single-quarter repurchase total of the year and an all-time high, significantly exceeding the $4.5 billion spent in the second quarter and $234 million in the first. CNBC also noted that the company accelerated repurchases as operating and overall profits declined.

Despite these buybacks and ongoing equity investments, Berkshire's liquidity expanded. Investing.com reported that the company's cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasury bill holdings reached a record $377.4 billion.

Brief written by urgent.news from CNBC, Investing.com, Bloomberg — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.