Business Insider44%
Warren Buffett's successor starts spending Berkshire's cash mountain 44%
By Lauren Edmonds30% Theron Mohamed53%
8/8/2026, 2:40:13 PM
Keywords: Warren Buffett, Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway, Cash Pile, Stocks, Buybacks, Ceo, Capital Allocation
BS Summary: This article contains 18 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Unattributed Quote, and Confirmation Bias, with Indoctrination as the most egregious example at 12.2% saturation with 55 hits. Analysis detected 505 faulty-reasoning hits from 450 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.7% and a BS Rank of 44% (18,093 of 31,900 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 56.70% of the article peer group.
Greg Abel made a dent in Berkshire Hathaway's cash pile last quarter.
Berkshire's heaviest spending on stocks and buybacks in years shrank its cash pile to $365 billion.
Warren Buffett grew Berkshire's cash to record highs as bargain stocks and acquisitions were scarce.
Greg Abel might just be a little looser with the purse strings than Warren Buffett .
Abel, who succeeded Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO at the turn of this year, oversaw a drop in the conglomerate's mountain of cash and Treasury bills from $380 billion at the end of March to $365 billion at the end of June, excluding Treasury payables.
Berkshire opened its coffers to buy $23.5 billion in stocks while selling only $3.7 billion, meaning it purchased nearly $20 billion on a net basis.
It had been a net seller for 14 quarters straight.
The last time it had a larger net outlay on stocks was in the first quarter of 2022 .
Abel also repurchased $4.6 billion of Berkshire stock, marking the company's biggest quarter for stock buybacks since 2021.
The parent company of Geico, Dairy Queen, and Squishmallows-owner Jazwares reported a 16% year-on-year rise in operating income to $13 billion in the second quarter.
Lower insurance profits were offset by profit growth at BNSF Railway , Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and the manufacturing, service, and retailing division, plus a nearly $1.3 billion foreign-currency exchange gain.
Berkshire completed its acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home Corporation for $8.5 billion in cash on July 24, after the quarter ended.
Ramping up net stock purchases and buybacks marks a change in tempo for Berkshire.
Its cash pile roughly doubled during Buffett's last two years as CEO as the legendary bargain hunter struggled to find them in a red-hot market for stocks and private businesses.
Macrae Sykes , a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, said in emailed comments that he welcomed the sizable buyback since it suggested Abel and Buffett — who remains chairman — once again saw Berkshire shares as offering good value for money, and were finding ways to deploy cash.
Abel pledged allegiance to Buffett's signature approach of disciplined capital allocation in his first letter to shareholders in February, writing that Berkshire pursues opportunities where the reward matches the risk.
Buffett's successor said he's proud of Berkshire's " nimble culture ," which enables it to make considered, thoughtful investments quickly.
"Many times in Berkshire's history, some observers have suggested that our substantial cash position signals a retreat from investing.
It does not .
We continue to evaluate many opportunities and will remain patient and disciplined in pursuing the right ones for the benefit of our owners," Abel wrote.
Speakers
1speaker11%attributed speech402writer words
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100%flagged-word coverageMacrae Sykes
48 attributed words100% of attributed speech63% writer coverage
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