Berkshire is finally dipping into its mountain of cash

When Greg Abel took over as Berkshire Hathaway CEO this year, he inherited two things: oracle-sized shoes to fill and a massive pile of cash. This past quarter, he took both in a new direction by going on a multibillion-dollar spending spree:At the end of Q1, Berkshire had $397 billion in cash on hand.By the end of Q2, that had shrunk to $365.5 billion, the company announced as it reported earnings on Saturday.Bye, bye, buy: During his last few years as CEO, Warren Buffett held onto cash like a broken vending machine. From October 2022 to December 2025, Berkshire was a net seller of stocks, and its cash pile more than tripled.But Abel uncorked the piggy bank last quarter, investing $10 billion in Alphabet and buying back about $4.5 billion worth of Berkshire shares—something the company traditionally only does when it believes it’s being undervalued. (Berkshire also dropped $6.8 billion on homebuilder Taylor Morrison last month, but that didn’t close until after the quarter ended.)Other ’shire things: Berkshire’s operating earnings also jumped 16% last quarter, as its energy, manufacturing, service, and retail businesses helped make up for its sagging insurance sector. You’re on thin ice, Geico gecko.—BC