Berkshire Keeps Buying Back Stock While Borrowing Costs Rise in Yen

Berkshire Hathaway is pressing ahead with its own-share purchases even as both of its headline profit lines lost ground. The conglomerate spent roughly $9.6 billion on buybacks in the third quarter of 2026, according to Reuters, and followed that with about $2 billion more in October. Earlier in 2026, a further $4.8 billion had already gone into repurchasing stock.

The buyback figures were disclosed on November 7 alongside the company's quarterly results. They landed in a period of weaker earnings: operating profit slipped 6% to $12.71 billion from $13.5 billion a year earlier. Results from the insurance operations, GEICO included, came in softer. Net income attributable to shareholders fell 28% to $22.11 billion, down from $30.8 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Alongside the earnings update, Berkshire set terms on Friday for a five-tranche yen bond totaling ¥182.3 billion. The maturities stretch from 2029 to 2056, with coupons ranging between 2.624% and 4.571%, per the mandatory disclosure. Net proceeds to Berkshire come to ¥182 billion. Bloomberg reported that the financing costs on this issue were higher than on the company's April sale.

On the analyst side, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its price target on Berkshire Hathaway on Monday to $765,000 from $735,000, while keeping its "Underperform" rating on the stock.