Berkshire Hathaway has reported a lower third-quarter operating profit as insurance underwriting results declined, while sharply stepping up purchases of its own shares.

The company said on Saturday that operating profit fell 6% to $12.71 billion, or about $8,954 per Class A share, down from $13.49 billion a year earlier. Net income dropped 28% to $22.11 billion, a figure that includes unrealised gains and losses on stocks the Omaha-based group still owns.

Berkshire bought back $9.6 billion of its stock during the quarter, on top of $4.8 billion repurchased earlier in the year, bringing the nine-month total to about $14.4 billion. The company held $356.9 billion in cash at the end of September.

Insurance drags on the quarter

The weaker result was driven mainly by insurance, where underwriting profits fell. Berkshire's own release urges investors to read its full quarterly filing, warning that the summary figures alone are not adequate for an informed investment judgment, and noting that investment gains in any single quarter are usually meaningless for judging performance.

For the first nine months of 2026, operating earnings rose to $37.03 billion from $34.29 billion a year earlier, while net earnings reached $57.89 billion against $47.77 billion in the same period of 2025. Investment gains in the third quarter totalled $9.41 billion, down from $17.31 billion a year earlier.

Berkshire also said that 65% of the total fair value of its equity investments was concentrated in five holdings: Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. Insurance float, the money held to pay future claims, stood at about $178.5 billion at the end of September.