Berkshire (BRK.A.US) Q2 net profit doubled year-on-year to $25.667 billion, with a significant increase in buyback efforts.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A.US) demonstrated solid growth in operating performance in the second quarter, while significantly accelerating its stock buybacks. On August 8, Berkshire released its latest data showing that its operating profit for the second quarter of 2026 was $12.983 billion, an increase of approximately 16% from $11.160 billion in the same period last year. For the first half of the year, the operating profit reached $24.329 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 17%. Meanwhile, the company repurchased approximately $4.5 billion worth of shares in the second quarter, bringing the total buyback to about $4.8 billion for the first half of the year, marking a substantial increase in buyback activity compared to previous periods. Driven by a significant rebound in unrealized gains from its stock portfolio, the GAAP net profit for the second quarter almost doubled year-on-year, reaching $25.667 billion, up approximately 107% from $12.370 billion in the same period last year. The net profit for the first half of the year amounted to $35.773 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 111%. Multi-business lines drive operating profit growth From the perspective of various business segments, the manufacturing, services, and retail sectors showed the most notable performance in the second quarter, contributing an operating profit of $4.470 billion, a rise of about 24% compared to $3.601 billion a year earlier, with a total of $7.669 billion for the first half, reflecting an annual increase of approximately 15%. The railroad business, BNSF, contributed an operating profit of $1.558 billion in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of about 6%; Berkshire Hathaway Energy reported a profit of $891 million in the second quarter, up about 27% from $702 million a year earlier. Insurance underwriting profit for the second quarter stood at $1.731 billion, down from $1.992 billion in the same period last year; insurance investment income was $3.059 billion, also slightly narrowed, decreasing approximately 9% from $3.367 billion a year earlier. The "other" category performed impressively, contributing $1.274 billion in the second quarter, compared to only $32 million in the same period a year ago. The company disclosed that this change was primarily driven by a significant improvement in foreign exchange gains and lossesnon-dollar-denominated debt generated foreign exchange gains of $326 million in the second quarter of 2026, totaling $575 million for the first half; in contrast, in the same period of 2025, foreign exchange losses were recorded at $877 million and $1.590 billion, respectively. The substantial leap in net profit for the second quarter was mainly driven by investment income. After-tax investment income was $12.684 billion, with unrealized gains from its stock portfolio increasing by about $10.9 billion, and realized after-tax investment income at about $1.8 billion. In comparison, the net profit for the second quarter of 2025 was significantly affected by a $3.760 billion impairment loss recognized on its investment in Kraft Heinz Company. Regarding buybacks, the company repurchased approximately $4.5 billion worth of shares in the second quarter, resulting in a cumulative buyback of about $4.8 billion for the first half of the year, reflecting a noticeable acceleration compared to multiple historical periods. This article is reprinted from "Wall Street Insights", edited by GMTEight: Wang Qiu-jia.