US holding company: Berkshire Hathaway buys back more of its own shares

The group bought back its own shares for $9.6 billion in the third quarter. At the same time, the group is investing in new companies.

New York. The US holding company Berkshire Hathaway has bought back more of its own shares. In the third quarter, the company accelerated the acquisition of its own shares and bought its own securities worth $9.6 billion, as the Omaha, Nebraska-based company announced on Saturday. From the beginning of the year to the middle of the year, Berkshire bought back shares worth 4.8 billion.

CEO Greg Abel seems more willing to spend Berkshire's enormous cash reserves than his predecessor, the investor legend Warren Buffett. The 96-year-old Buffett retired as chairman of the board of directors in September, but remains on the board as honorary chairman. In the final years of his 60-year tenure, he had increasing difficulty finding suitable takeover targets.

At the end of September, Berkshire's cash and cash equivalents stood at $356.9 billion, up from $380.2 billion at the end of March. The company's operating profit fell six percent to $12.71 billion in the quarter. The main reason was a 26 percent decline in profits in the insurance division.

In addition to the share buybacks, CEO Abel also invested in other companies. This year, Berkshire bought shares in Google parent Alphabet for billions of dollars to support its expansion in the field of artificial intelligence. In July, the group also acquired the house builder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion and secured a four percent stake in the Italian software company Bending Spoons.