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Does Berkshire return more value through buybacks or dividends? It has not declared a cash dividend to its own shareholders since 1967. Instead, Berkshire Hathaway retains earnings when management believes they can create more value inside the company, and it may repurchase shares when its CEO—after consulting the board chair—conservatively judges them to be worth less than their intrinsic value. Neither route guarantees a return on a particular schedule.
The latest repurchase activity covered here is through June 30, 2026: Berkshire reported purchases in May and June after making none during 2025. That is a dated record of activity, not a full-year 2026 total or a promise of future buybacks.
What Berkshire’s policies say
Berkshire’s dividend policy is conditional, not a claim that dividends are inherently undesirable. Its 2025 annual report says: “Our approach to cash dividends continues to be that Berkshire will not pay dividends so long as more than one dollar of market value for shareholders is reasonably likely to be created by each dollar of retained earnings.” The board reviews this policy annually. Berkshire’s 2025 Form 10-K says the company had not declared a cash dividend since 1967.
The policy concerns cash dividends Berkshire might pay its own shareholders. It does not mean Berkshire receives no dividends: companies in its investment portfolio pay dividends to Berkshire, as discussed below.
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How Berkshire’s buyback authorization works
Berkshire’s 2025 Form 10-K says the repurchase program was amended in 2025. The CEO may authorize purchases after consulting the board chair if the share price is below Berkshire’s conservatively determined estimate of intrinsic value. The company can buy shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
- It is discretionary: the authorization sets no minimum purchase amount or maximum share count, and it does not require Berkshire to buy shares.
- It has a liquidity floor: Berkshire will not repurchase shares if doing so would reduce its cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury Bills below $30 billion.
- Intrinsic value is an estimate: it is management’s assessment of the business’s value, not a directly observable market price. Investors cannot infer from the authorization alone that a particular share price is below that estimate.
CEO Gregory E. Abel wrote in Berkshire’s 2025 annual report: “We will effectively and efficiently return capital to our owners through share repurchases when the value proposition is compelling.” That describes a condition for using buybacks, not a commitment to a recurring program.
What Berkshire actually repurchased
The annual report says Berkshire made no share repurchases during 2025. The second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q reports no purchases in April, followed by purchases in May and June. The figures below are the monthly amounts disclosed by Berkshire; they are not a forecast or an annualized rate.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute| Reporting period | Class A shares | Class A average price | Class B shares | Class B average price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 calendar year | 0 repurchased | Not applicable (Berkshire Hathaway 2025 Form 10-K) | 0 repurchased | Not applicable (Berkshire Hathaway 2025 Form 10-K) |
| April 2026 | 0 repurchased | Not applicable (Berkshire Hathaway second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q) | 0 repurchased | Not applicable (Berkshire Hathaway second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q) |
| May 2026 | 65 | $716,231.37 | 1,458,312 | $476.01 |
| June 2026 | 413 | $733,775.06 | 7,139,881 | $487.98 |
At December 31, 2025, Berkshire reported $369.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury Bills, net of unsettled purchases, in its 2025 Form 10-K. That dated balance helps show the scale of its liquidity, but it does not mean the entire amount was available for distribution: Berkshire’s capital decisions also weigh resilience and investment alternatives.
Dividends Berkshire receives are not dividends it pays
Berkshire’s 2025 shareholder letter listed dividends received from selected holdings. These are cash payments from portfolio companies to Berkshire, not payments from Berkshire to its shareholders.
| Portfolio companies | Dividends received by Berkshire in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s | $1.668 billion total (Berkshire Hathaway 2025 shareholder letter) |
| Mitsubishi, ITOCHU, Mitsui, Marubeni, and Sumitomo | $862 million total (Berkshire Hathaway 2025 shareholder letter) |
| Both listed groups combined | $2.5 billion, as reported by Berkshire (Berkshire Hathaway 2025 shareholder letter) |
The shareholder letter’s individual 2025 figures, in millions of dollars, were Apple $280, American Express $479, Coca-Cola $816, Moody’s $93, Mitsubishi $273, ITOCHU $181, Mitsui $201, Marubeni $105, and Sumitomo $102. These are reported receipts for that year, not a forecast of future portfolio income.
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How buybacks and dividends affect shareholders differently
Buybacks can increase continuing owners’ proportional stake
When a company repurchases shares and retires or holds them outside the public float, continuing shareholders own a larger proportion of the business if the share count falls. Berkshire’s 2025 annual report describes repurchases as allowing shareholders to own an incrementally larger piece of its businesses without deploying additional capital themselves.
That ownership arithmetic does not make every buyback beneficial. If a company pays more than the shares are worth, it can transfer value away from continuing owners. Berkshire’s intrinsic-value condition is its stated safeguard, but the estimate is management’s judgment and the outcome depends on the price paid and the business’s actual value.
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Dividends put cash directly in shareholders’ hands
A dividend gives shareholders cash without requiring them to sell shares. A repurchase does not pay cash to shareholders who continue to hold their shares; investors who want cash from a holding may need to sell some shares. A dividend may therefore suit an investor seeking direct cash distributions, while a buyback may appeal to an investor comfortable leaving capital invested. The practical choice depends on the investor’s needs and circumstances, not only on a company’s stated policy.
Retained earnings have an opportunity cost
Every dollar retained can be directed toward operating the business, new investments, acquisitions, liquidity, or repurchases rather than a dividend. Berkshire’s stated policy makes the expected value created by retaining and reinvesting capital central to its dividend decision. Abel also acknowledged the constraint of scale: “At Berkshire’s scale, the math of compounding works against us – a reality long understood and best acknowledged plainly.” The statement recognizes that deploying a very large pool of capital can be difficult; it is not a guarantee that any particular retained dollar will earn an attractive return.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical framework for comparing the choices
When evaluating Berkshire—or another company—compare the alternatives on their merits rather than treating a dividend yield or a buyback announcement as a verdict.
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- Price versus value: For a buyback, ask whether the company is repurchasing below a defensible estimate of intrinsic value. A market quote is observable; intrinsic value is an estimate that depends on assumptions.
- Ownership effect: Consider whether the share count is actually falling and whether the price paid is reasonable. A buyback can increase continuing holders’ proportional ownership, but the price matters.
- Liquidity and resilience: Compare distributions with the company’s cash needs, obligations, and ability to withstand difficult conditions. Berkshire’s $30 billion post-repurchase floor is its stated guardrail, not a general rule for other companies.
- Other uses for capital: Weigh repurchases and dividends against reinvestment opportunities and the value of retaining liquidity. A company’s choice should reflect the returns it can reasonably expect from those alternatives.
- Your need for cash: Dividends deliver cash directly; buybacks do not provide cash to holders who keep their shares. Consider whether you want cash distributions or prefer to remain invested.
- Timing and follow-through: Distinguish authorization from execution. Berkshire’s authorization does not require a purchase, and its disclosed activity must be read with its reporting dates rather than treated as a standing rate.
What the record does—and does not—show
Berkshire’s filings establish a long-standing conditional policy against cash dividends to its own shareholders, a discretionary buyback program with an intrinsic-value test and liquidity floor, no repurchases in 2025, and purchases in May and June 2026. The latest activity reported here ends June 30, 2026; it does not establish repurchases after that date, a future dividend decision, or which route will create more value from here.
For primary-source context, consult Berkshire Hathaway’s 2025 Form 10-K, second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q, and 2025 shareholder letter. Berkshire’s official shareholder-letter index also lists its collected shareholder letters, a source of historical context rather than a current valuation guide.
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