For more than three years, Berkshire Hathaway did something that made Wall Street increasingly nervous: it sat on its hands. Quarter after quarter, Warren Buffett’s conglomerate sold more stock than it bought, piling up a cash reserve so large it rivaled the GDP of a mid-sized European country. That streak just ended.
Under new CEO Greg Abel, Berkshire became a net buyer of equities in Q2 2026 for the first time in over three years, purchasing $23.5 billion in stocks while selling just $3.7 billion. The company also bought back $4.5 billion of its own shares during the quarter, a dramatic escalation from the $235 million it repurchased in Q1.
The cash pile finally shrinks
Berkshire ended Q1 2026 with $397.4 billion in cash and equivalents. By the end of Q2, that figure had dropped to roughly $365 billion.
Buybacks, which had been paused since 2024, resumed in March 2026. And they didn’t slow down after the quarter closed. July alone saw more than $3.3 billion in additional repurchases.
Alphabet and the art of doubling down
The most eye-catching individual bet was a $10 billion addition to Berkshire’s stake in Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The position is now one of Berkshire’s largest holdings.
The combination of buybacks and the Alphabet stake accounts for roughly $14.5 billion of the $23.5 billion in purchases.
Abel puts his own money where his mouth is
In early March, Abel invested his entire after-tax annual salary of $15 million into Berkshire shares. He’s said he plans to repeat this every year.
Abel made the purchase right as buybacks resumed, essentially betting alongside the company at the same moment Berkshire was betting on itself.