Berkshire Hathaway Flips from Hoarding to Spending: Inside the $19.8 Billion Buying Spree

Berkshire Hathaway bought $19.8B more stock than it sold in Q2, ending a 14-quarter selling streak, as earnings more than doubled.

The most telling signal from Berkshire Hathaway's latest regulatory filing isn't a single number — it's the direction of the flow. After 14 consecutive quarters of selling more equities than it bought, the Omaha conglomerate flipped the script in the second quarter, purchasing roughly $19.8 billion more stock than it offloaded.

That reversal marks a notable philosophical shift for a company that spent years building a fortress-like cash position under Warren Buffett. With Greg Abel now at the helm, the buying spree suggests a renewed conviction in market valuations — even as the legendary investor and portfolio manager Ted Weschler continue to call the shots on equity decisions, a continuity that has reassured shareholders watching the leadership transition.

A Quarter of Big Bets and Bold New Positions

The portfolio reshuffling was anything but timid. Berkshire expanded its Alphabet stake by approximately $17 billion, split between a private placement and open-market purchases. Delta Air Lines saw a 44 percent boost, with the position growing by roughly 17.5 million shares to 57.3 million. The conglomerate also opened a fresh position in homebuilder D.R. Horton while adding to existing holdings in Lennar and Macy's — a clear wager on the US housing sector.

The money had to come from somewhere. Berkshire trimmed its stakes in Bank of America, Capital One, Kroger, DaVita, and Ally Financial, locking in gains on positions that had appreciated substantially. The net effect: the equity portfolio now stands at approximately $299 billion, with the five largest holdings accounting for about 72 percent of the total.

Earnings Beat Provides the Backdrop

The buying spree arrived alongside a robust earnings report. Second-quarter net income hit $25.7 billion, more than doubling the $12.4 billion posted a year earlier. Investment gains contributed $12.7 billion, while operating earnings reached $13.0 billion — a 16 percent jump that outpaced the consensus estimate of $5.13 per share with an actual result of $6.02.

Manufacturing, services, and retail operations drove much of the strength, with Berkshire Hathaway Energy also contributing. The insurance underwriting business remained the weak link, however, with results sliding 13 percent to $1.73 billion.

Legal Clouds Part — But Don't Disappear

On the litigation front, an appeals court on Friday upheld a 2024 settlement in a class-action lawsuit against HomeServices of America, a Berkshire subsidiary accused of participating in rules that artificially inflated real estate brokerage commissions. HomeServices agreed to pay $250 million of the more than $1 billion total settlement, spread over four years, with roughly $130 million already held in trust.

Yet the legal overhang isn't fully resolved. Berkshire Hathaway Energy, HomeServices' parent, still faces a separate commission-related class action. A judge ruled in April that this case falls outside the scope of the HomeServices settlement — a reminder that while one significant question has been answered, others remain open.

Insider Confidence and a Tepid Tape

Adding to the constructive signals, insiders were buying in early August. General Counsel Michael O'Sullivan acquired 488 Class-B shares through a trust, while CFO Charles Chang purchased two Class-A shares at $765,000 apiece.

The market's response, however, has been muted. The stock closed Monday at €651,000, down 0.5 percent on the day and 5.1 percent below its 52-week high of €686,000, reached on August 10. It remains 2.4 percent above its 200-day moving average, with a monthly decline of 2.6 percent offset by a year-to-date gain of 2.2 percent.

Not everyone shares the optimism — Appaloosa Management opened put positions on Berkshire's Class-B shares during the quarter, a speculative bet against the conglomerate. But with the buying drought officially over, the debate now shifts to whether Abel's more aggressive capital deployment can finally move the needle on a stock that has largely traded sideways despite the improving fundamentals.