Overview
- Berkshire reported on Saturday that Q2 net income was about $25.67 billion and operating earnings were roughly $12.98 billion, with much of the headline jump driven by unrealized investment gains.
- Greg Abel used company cash to make large commitments that reduced liquidity, including a $10 billion private placement in Alphabet, the roughly $6.8 billion all‑cash acquisition of Taylor Morrison, and nearly $20 billion more stock purchases than sales in Q2.
- The company disclosed roughly $4.5 billion in share repurchases in Q2 and said it bought more than $3.3 billion more in July, though outside estimates of total April–July buybacks range from about $5 billion to $11 billion.
- Berkshire’s cash pile fell to roughly $365 billion at quarter end from about $397 billion at March‑end as the public‑equity portfolio became more concentrated and Abel sold about 15 legacy Buffett positions while enlarging stakes such as Alphabet.
- Investors should watch 13F filings and future buyback disclosures for clarity because Berkshire still repurchases only when shares trade below management’s conservative intrinsic‑value estimate and headline profits swing with mark‑to‑market investment gains.