<figure><img src="https://i.insider.com/6a1ea1c7b4fb977f359832faformat=jpeg" height="2049" width="3000" alt="Warren Buffett is the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway"><figcaption>Warren Buffett is the former CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.<p class="copyright">Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage</p></figcaption></figure><ul class="summary-list"><li>Warren Buffett is no longer at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, but you might not know it.</li><li>Berkshire bought and sold few stocks last quarter, echoing Buffett's final years in charge.</li><li>New CEO Greg Abel did ramp up stock buybacks to $9.6 billion worth, the highest figure in years.</li></ul><p><a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-95-birthday-berkshire-hathaway-stock-investing-025-8">Warren Buffett</a> is no longer running Berkshire Hathaway, but you almost wouldn't know it.</p><p>The famed investor's conglomerate reported third-quarter earnings on Saturday, showing minimal stock buying and selling.</p><p>That was typical during the final years of Buffett's six decades in charge, as the <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-80-billion-headache-dilemma-expensive-stocks-businesses-deals-2021-5">bargain hunter struggled to find deals</a> on stocks and businesses during a historic stock-market boom.</p><p>He <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-meeting-resignation-audience-reaction-legacy-career-2025-5">stepped down</a> as Berkshire's CEO at the end of 2025, and as chairman this September.</p><p>Under new CEO <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-berkshire-ceo-retirement-greg-abel-challenges-cash-dividend-2026-1">Greg Abel</a>, Berkshire was a net seller of stocks last quarter, buying $2.4 billion and selling $2.8 billion. That's a striking slowdown from the second quarter, when it bought a net $20 billion of stocks.</p><p>Berkshire's cash pile shrank by around $8 billion, to $357 billion, after subtracting $20.5 billion in Treasury payables. It has still more than doubled in size since the end of 2023, reflecting Buffett's <a target="" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffet-new-investors-tech-stocks-acquisitions-berkshire-hathaway-meeting-2021-5">prolonged struggle to find value</a>.</p><p>One of Abel's key changes, in consultation with Buffett, has been to accelerate buybacks. He repurchased $9.6 billion of Berkshire stock last quarter, marking the busiest period for buybacks in years.</p><p>That looks to have been a good call, as Berkshire stock has jumped from below $500 at the end of September to a record high above $570 this week.</p><p>The surge in buybacks was a "pleasant surprise," David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland and longtime Berkshire analyst, told Business Insider by email.</p><p>He said that Abel's decision to ramp up buybacks, while being a net seller of stocks last quarter, "indicates caution with respect to current market valuations other than Berkshire's."</p><p>Berkshire reported $12.7 billion of operating income, a 6% drop from the same quarter last year. That was fueled by what Kass described as a "disappointing" drop in insurance underwriting income, along with lower insurance investment income.</p><p>Those declines offset higher profits from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-bnsf-train-robbery-nike-crime-theft-berkshire-merch-2025-3">BNSF Railway</a>, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and the manufacturing, service, and retailing businesses.</p><p>Berkshire owns scores of businesses, including Geico, See's Candies, and Duracell, and also holds <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-greg-abel-stock-picks-investing-apple-coke-amex-2026-3">multibillion-dollar stakes</a> in public companies such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and American Express.</p><p>Shareholders will have to wait until next week, when it files its third-quarter portfolio disclosure, to learn what stocks it bought and sold last quarter.</p><p>Abel has hewed closely to <a target="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greg-abel-shareholder-letter-warren-buffett-berkshire-ceo-succession-tribute-2026-2">Buffett's approach</a> during his first year as CEO, appearing to follow some classic advice for successors: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."</p><div class="read-original">Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-earnings-stocks-portfolio-cash-buybacks-abel-2026-11">Business Insider</a></div>
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