Berkshire Hathaway sharply accelerated capital deployment in the first half of 2026, buying $39.4 billion of equities, repurchasing $4.8 billion of its own stock and reducing cash and equivalents to about $364.7 billion by June 30 from a peak near $397 billion earlier in the year. The spending spree included a $10 billion private placement in Alphabet, announced on June 1 as part of the Google parent’s broader $80 billion equity raise for AI infrastructure, and Berkshire’s roughly $6.8 billion equity acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison, which closed on July 24. After $27.8 billion in stock sales, Berkshire was still a net buyer by about $11.6 billion in the first half, marking the first time in 14 consecutive quarters that it was a net purchaser of equities. Buybacks also accelerated, with $4.5 billion repurchased in the second quarter, the largest quarterly total since 2021, and another $3.3 billion bought back in July. The stepped-up pace comes under CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett at the end of 2025, as Berkshire reported roughly 16% year-over-year growth in second-quarter operating earnings to around $13 billion and a 10% rise in revenue to $101.8 billion, ahead of analyst expectations.