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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchBerkshire Hathaway has not declared a cash dividend to its shareholders since 1967, but it does sometimes repurchase its own shares. Its policy is not a promise to return cash by either route: dividends depend on whether management sees better uses for retained earnings, while buybacks are discretionary and permitted only when management conservatively judges the stock to be worth more than its market price. Berkshire reported no repurchases in 2025, then reported purchases in May and June 2026. That latest activity covers the period through June 30, 2026—not the whole of 2026.
How Berkshire’s dividend and buyback policies differ
Berkshire’s dividend policy asks whether keeping earnings inside the company is likely to create more value. Its 2025 annual report says it will not pay cash dividends while more than one dollar of market value for shareholders is reasonably likely to be created for each dollar of retained earnings. The board reviews the policy annually. Berkshire’s 2025 Form 10-K says the company had not declared a cash dividend since 1967. This refers to dividends paid to Berkshire shareholders, not dividends Berkshire receives from its investments. Berkshire Hathaway’s 2025 annual report and Form 10-K.
Share repurchases are a separate, conditional way to return capital. Under the program described in the 2025 Form 10-K and reaffirmed in the second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q, the CEO may authorize repurchases after consulting the board chair when the share price is below Berkshire’s conservatively determined intrinsic value. Purchases may be made in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. There is no required purchase amount or maximum share count, and the authorization does not obligate Berkshire to buy shares. The company also will not repurchase shares if doing so would take cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury Bills below $30 billion. 2025 annual report and Form 10-K; second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q.
What Berkshire’s reported activity shows
The company reported zero shares repurchased during 2025. At December 31, 2025, Berkshire reported $369.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury Bills, net of unsettled purchases. Both figures are dated to that year-end and do not describe a continuing buyback rate. Berkshire Hathaway’s 2025 annual report and Form 10-K.
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In its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, Berkshire reported no purchases in April, followed by purchases in May and June:
| Month in 2026 | Class A shares reported | Average Class A price | Class B shares reported | Average Class B price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | None | Not applicable | None | Not applicable |
| May | 65 | $716,231.37 | 1,458,312 | $476.01 |
| June | 413 | $733,775.06 | 7,139,881 | $487.98 |
These reported monthly purchases establish that Berkshire used the authorization in May and June; they do not establish an ongoing schedule or a commitment to continue buying shares. The figures are from Berkshire’s second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q.
How buybacks affect shareholders who keep their shares
When a company repurchases shares, the number of shares outstanding falls. A shareholder who does not sell then owns a slightly larger proportion of the company, without investing additional capital. Berkshire’s 2025 annual report describes its repurchases in those terms.
That effect does not automatically make every buyback beneficial. The price paid matters: buying below a reasonable estimate of intrinsic value can benefit continuing owners, while paying too much can erode value. Berkshire’s intrinsic-value test is a management judgment, not an objectively observable market quote or a guarantee that a repurchase will prove successful. The program’s stated test is the company’s safeguard; investors cannot treat it as proof that every purchase is a bargain.
What a dividend offers that a buyback does not
A dividend delivers cash directly to shareholders. A buyback does not pay cash to shareholders who retain their shares; an investor receives cash only by selling shares into the market or to the company in a transaction where the investor participates. This makes dividends more directly useful to an investor who needs portfolio income, while a buyback may suit an investor who prefers to remain invested and let ownership compound.
Neither method is inherently better for every shareholder. A decision also depends on the company’s investment opportunities, the price of its shares, its need for liquidity, and the shareholder’s own cash needs. Berkshire’s policies describe how the company says it evaluates its capital; they do not establish the best choice for every investor or guarantee a future dividend or regular repurchases.
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Why retained earnings and liquidity matter
Berkshire’s dividend rule makes the expected value of reinvesting retained earnings central to the decision. Retained capital can support the company’s businesses or other investments; distributing it is not automatically preferable simply because the company has cash. Gregory E. Abel, Berkshire’s CEO, wrote in the 2025 annual report: “We will effectively and efficiently return capital to our owners through share repurchases when the value proposition is compelling.” He also noted, “At Berkshire’s scale, the math of compounding works against us – a reality long understood and best acknowledged plainly.” 2025 annual report.
The $30 billion post-repurchase minimum is a stated liquidity guardrail, not a target balance or a claim that all cash above it should be distributed. Liquidity has value because it preserves the company’s capacity to meet needs and pursue opportunities. Investors comparing buybacks and dividends should therefore consider what retained cash may enable, rather than treating it as idle money.
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Berkshire also receives dividends from its investments
Berkshire’s lack of a cash dividend for its own shareholders does not mean it receives no dividend income. Its 2025 shareholder letter reported the following dividend receipts from selected holdings, in millions of dollars:
| Selected holdings | Dividends received by Berkshire in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s | $1.668 billion |
| Mitsubishi, ITOCHU, Mitsui, Marubeni, and Sumitomo | $862 million |
| Combined receipts from the listed U.S. and Japanese positions | $2.5 billion |
These are amounts Berkshire reported receiving from those companies in 2025, not payments to Berkshire shareholders or forecasts of future income. Source: Berkshire Hathaway’s 2025 shareholder letter.
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A practical comparison for Berkshire investors
- Price versus value: For a buyback, ask whether the company’s estimate of intrinsic value is credible and whether the repurchase price leaves a margin of value. That estimate is not a market fact.
- Ownership effect: A buyback can increase the proportional ownership of shareholders who stay invested, but the price paid determines whether that is a sound use of capital.
- Cash needs: A dividend gives shareholders cash directly; a buyback does not pay shareholders who keep their shares.
- Alternative uses: Compare a distribution with the expected value of reinvesting earnings in the company or using cash for other opportunities.
- Resilience: Consider liquidity needs and Berkshire’s stated $30 billion minimum rather than assuming every dollar above it is surplus.
- Timing: Keep periods distinct: Berkshire reported no repurchases in 2025 and purchases in May and June 2026 through June 30. Those disclosures do not establish activity after that date.
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