Berkshire disclosed in August that its stock buybacks slowed to a trickle in recent months, after many periods of hefty repurchases. The company said in its quarterly report that it can buy back stock whenever Buffett, its chairman and chief executive.
Berkshire said it bought back about $345 million of stock in the second quarter, its smallest quarterly repurchase since 2018, according to filings and news releases. In the second half of 2020, the company snapped up about $9 billion of its stock each quarter.
Berkshire’s sprawling empire extends to many corners of the economy. It operates businesses including the insurer Geico, BNSF Railway and the retailers See’s Candies and Oriental Trading. It manages a massive stock portfolio with big positions in Apple, Coca-Cola and other household names.
Its stock has been on a tear. Class B shares have soared 26% in 2024, compared with an 18% advance by the S& P 500. Investors’ recent enthusiasm for insurers might have fueled Berkshire’s gain. Progressive shares, for example, are up 60% this year, while Allstate shares have climbed 35% and Chubb shares have risen 28%.

Class B shares traded earlier this week at 1.46 times their average projected book value, a measure of net worth, over the next 12 months, above a five-year average of 1.28, according to FactSet. Some close observers of Berkshire refrain from using standard price/earnings ratios to judge whether the company is a good buy, since fluctuations in the value of its stock portfolio can cause big swings in reported profit.

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