Berkshire Sticks to Buyback Playbook as Underwriting Profit Slips 43%

Berkshire Hathaway kept its foot on the buyback pedal last month, repurchasing roughly $2 billion of its own stock in October — a move disclosed alongside quarterly results that showed softer underwriting and a lower bottom line.

The October purchases sit on top of about $9.6 billion spent on buybacks during the third quarter of 2026, bringing the nine-month total to some $14.4 billion, according to company figures.

KBW Lifts Target, Keeps Underperform

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on Berkshire on Monday to $765,000 from $735,000, though the brokerage stuck with its "Underperform" rating. KBW pointed to operating earnings per share that beat analyst expectations and buybacks that came in above forecasts as the supportive factors behind the revision.

The stock added 0.8% on Friday. Even with the overall operating profit declining, the positive surprise against expectations centered on per-share operating earnings.

Earnings Pull Back

Operating profit for the third quarter came in at $12.7 billion, down from $13.5 billion a year earlier. Net income attributable to shareholders also fell, to $22.1 billion from $30.8 billion in the comparable prior-year period.

The reinsurance arm felt the pinch: net underwriting profit dropped 43% to $1.35 billion, against $2.37 billion a year before. Premiums written in property and casualty reinsurance, by contrast, climbed 7.0%, helped along by a reinsurance agreement with Tokio Marine.

Yen Bond Priced Across Five Maturities

On the financing side, Berkshire set the final size of its yen-denominated bond at ¥182.3 billion, spread across five maturities, with proceeds to the issuer expected at ¥182 billion. Coupons range from 2.624% on the shortest tranche to 4.571% on the longest, and the largest slice — ¥92 billion — matures in 2029. Settlement is scheduled for November 19, 2026.