Berkshire Hathaway released Q2 2026 earnings on Saturday and the headline is a shift in capital deployment.

Berkshire Hathaway released Q2 2026 earnings on Saturday and the headline is a shift in capital deployment. After 14 consecutive quarters as a net seller, the company became a net buyer of equities with roughly $19.8 billion in net purchases ($23.5 billion bought, $3.7 billion sold) during the quarter. The cash pile declined to $365.5 billion at the end of June, down from a record $397.4 billion just three months earlier.

Operating earnings rose 16% to $12.983 billion, driven by broad strength across the portfolio. Manufacturing, service and retailing earnings jumped 24%, Berkshire Hathaway Energy profit surged 27%, and BNSF railroad posted a 6% increase. Insurance underwriting was the exception, falling 13% to $1.73 billion. The quarter also included the July 24 closing of the Taylor Morrison acquisition for $72.50 per share and $4.5 billion in share repurchases.

Greg Abel has been CEO since January 1 and this report shows active management rather than passive accumulation. Deploying $32 billion in cash while continuing buybacks suggests the team may see value in equities at even the current levels. The willingness to spend down the record pile can be interpreted as confidence in both the businesses they own and the prices they are paying for new ones (not necessarily the market overall though).

Should we still be bullish in this current bull market? Not sure when this bull market will end, but I'm hoping this will boost the confidence of the market overall. Let's see if they allocate more cash to equities in the next quarter. Thoughts?

Not financial advice. For informational and educational purposes only.