Berkshire Hathaway Led by Buffett Sets Record High in Share Buybacks This Year

$9.3 Billion Share Buyback in Q3 Alone
This Year's Share Buybacks Triple the Annual Record High

▲Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Berkshire Hathaway, led by investment genius Warren Buffett, has significantly increased its share repurchases this year.

According to Bloomberg on the 8th (local time), Berkshire Hathaway repurchased $9.3 billion (about 10 trillion KRW) worth of its own shares in the third quarter alone.

Up to September this year, Berkshire Hathaway's total share repurchases amounted to $16 billion.

It is estimated that at least $2.3 billion worth of shares were repurchased in October as well.

As a result, Berkshire Hathaway's share repurchases this year have already reached three times the previous annual record, surpassing the largest annual investment amount in Apple.

Despite the large-scale share repurchases, Berkshire Hathaway held cash and cash equivalents worth $145.7 billion (about 162 trillion KRW) as of the end of the third quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway is analyzed to have increased its share repurchases as it faced difficulties finding preferred investment targets favored by Buffett due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, due to the impact of COVID-19 causing continued poor performance in insurance and other businesses, operating profit in the third quarter fell 32% year-on-year to $5.48 billion (about 6.1 trillion KRW), but net profit surged 82% to $30.1 billion (about 33 trillion KRW) thanks to investment gains from Apple and others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.