Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate engaged in insurance and reinsurance, freight rail transportation (BNSF), utilities and energy (Berkshire Hathaway Energy), manufacturing, services, and retailing, with a equity portfolio concentrated in Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Chevron, and a cash and Treasury bill position that exceeded $300 billion at June 30, 2026. For the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, the Company generated operating earnings of $12,983 million, up 16.3 percent from $11,160 million in the prior-year quarter, and net earnings attributable to shareholders of $25,667 million (including $12,684 million of investment gains, predominantly unrealized equity appreciation). The H1 2026 operating earnings of $24,329 million were up 16.9 percent from $20,801 million in the prior-year period. The operating earnings breakdown shows insurance underwriting of $1,731 million (down from $1,992 million), insurance investment income of $3,059 million (down from $3,367 million), BNSF of $1,558 million (up 6.3 percent), Berkshire Hathaway Energy of $891 million (up 26.9 percent), manufacturing, service and retailing of $4,470 million (up 24.1 percent), and other of $1,274 million (including $326 million of foreign currency gains on non-U.S. dollar denominated debt). The Company repurchased approximately $4.5 billion of Class A equivalent shares during Q2 2026, bringing the six-month total to about $4.8 billion, with 1,431,693 Class A equivalent shares outstanding at June 30, 2026. Insurance float was approximately $177.5 billion at June 30, 2026, up $1.1 billion from year-end 2025.
The investment thesis rests on three variables. The operating earnings compounding trajectory is the load-bearing operating variable, with H1 2026 operating earnings of $24.3 billion up 16.9 percent year-over-year across a diversified set of wholly-owned businesses, and the strategic intent is to continue compounding operating earnings through the existing portfolio and the deployment of the cash pile. The cash deployment optionality is the load-bearing capital variable, with the cash and Treasury bill position exceeding $300 billion and the six-month buyback of $4.8 billion representing a modest deployment pace relative to the cash generation, and the strategic intent is to maintain the capital discipline that has characterized the Buffett era while waiting for outsized opportunities. The insurance float growth is the load-bearing insurance variable, with float of $177.5 billion up $1.1 billion from year-end 2025 providing a growing base of low-cost funding for the conglomerate's investments, and the strategic intent is to grow float through both the existing underwriting operations and the broader insurance cycle.