Is Berkshire Hathaway Stock a Buy as Warren Buffett Successor Greg Abel Starts to Deploy the Company's Cash Hoard?

Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel is putting the conglomerate's cash pile to work after years of accumulation. The company resumed share buybacks with $4.5 billion deployed in Q2 and turned net stock buyer for the first time in over three years, including a $10 billion stake in Alphabet. Abel also closed an acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison.

Operating earnings climbed 16% in Q2, though insurance underwriting profits dropped during the period. Berkshire still holds $365.5 billion in cash after the recent spending spree.

The stock trades at 1.85 times tangible book value, a metric analysts are citing as an attractive entry point given the shift in capital allocation strategy. Under founder Warren Buffett, Berkshire had maintained a defensive posture, building one of the largest corporate cash reserves in history. Abel's willingness to deploy that capital marks a notable strategic pivot for the $900 billion conglomerate.

The buyback restart and equity purchases signal management's view that deployment opportunities now exceed the value of holding cash, reversing a multi-year trend.