Greg Abel Begins Investing Berkshire's Cash Reserves Strategically

WHO:

ABC News - Greg Abel is the new CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, having taken over from Warren Buffett.

CNBC - Greg Abel is 64 years old and is leading Berkshire Hathaway.

Bloomberg Markets - Matthew Palazola is a Senior P&C Insurance Equity Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

WHAT:

ABC News - Berkshire Hathaway invested $10 billion in Google's parent company and repurchased about $4.5 billion of its shares.

ABC News - Berkshire's cash holdings decreased to $365.5 billion from nearly $400 billion.

ABC News - Berkshire reported a profit of $25.667 billion, or $17,868.44 per Class A share.

CNBC - Berkshire's operating earnings rose to $12.98 billion, a 16% increase from the previous year.

CNBC - Manufacturing, service, and retailing earnings increased by 24% to $4.47 billion.

CNBC - Berkshire repurchased approximately $4.5 billion of its own shares during the second quarter.

Bloomberg Markets - Berkshire repurchased about $4.5 billion of its shares while investing billions more.

WHERE:

ABC News - The company is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

WHEN:

ABC News - Greg Abel took over as CEO in January.

ABC News - Berkshire's second-quarter earnings report was released on a Saturday morning.

ABC News - The company previously repurchased $78 billion worth of its own stock between 2018 and 2024.

ABC News - The acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison was completed in July.

WHY:

ABC News - The repurchase of shares is based on the belief that they are selling for less than their worth.

CNBC - The increase in operating earnings was attributed to strength across energy, railroad, and manufacturing businesses.

HOW:

ABC News - Berkshire resumed buying back its own shares for the first time in more than two years.

ABC News - The company added more than $21 billion worth of commercial, industrial, and other stocks to its portfolio.

(UPDATED August 8, 2026 16:26 UTC)

Greg Abel has officially taken over as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, succeeding Warren Buffett, and at 64 years old, he is now leading the company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Recently, Berkshire Hathaway reported a profit of $25.667 billion, with operating earnings rising to $12.98 billion, thanks to strong performance in its energy, railroad, and manufacturing sectors. The company also made headlines by investing $10 billion in Google's parent company and repurchasing about $4.5 billion of its own shares, marking its return to share buybacks after more than two years.