Operating Earnings Dip as Underwriting Cools
Berkshire's news release put third-quarter operating earnings at $12.705 billion, down from $13.485 billion a year earlier, or roughly 5.8% lower. Net earnings attributable to shareholders were $22.112 billion, or $10.33 per average equivalent Class B share, versus $30.796 billion, or $14.28, in the third quarter of 2025. The gap between those two lines is mostly investment gains of $9.407 billion, which the company itself calls "usually meaningless" for any single quarter.
Inside operating earnings, insurance underwriting fell to $1.352 billion from $2.369 billion and insurance investment income slipped to $2.734 billion from $3.181 billion. BNSF rose to $1.729 billion from $1.449 billion, Berkshire Hathaway Energy rose to $1.612 billion from $1.489 billion, and manufacturing, service and retailing rose to $4.042 billion from $3.616 billion. The release also flagged a $343 million foreign-currency loss on non-dollar debt in the quarter, versus a $331 million gain a year earlier.
Buybacks Double Quarter Over Quarter
The headline for many holders is capital return. Berkshire said it repurchased about $9.6 billion of its own shares in the third quarter, bringing the nine-month total to about $14.4 billion. The 10-Q shows acquisitions of common stock of $4.527 billion in the second quarter and $235 million in the first, so the third-quarter pace was more than double the prior quarter. The filing restates that repurchases happen only when the CEO, after consulting the Chairman, believes the price is below intrinsic value, and never if cash, cash equivalents and Treasury bills would fall below $30 billion.
The 10-Q also lists $336.7 billion of short-term Treasury bills and $36.0 billion of cash and equivalents in the insurance-and-other segment at September 30, though it notes $20.5 billion of those bill purchases were still unsettled at quarter-end. Insurance float rose to about $178.5 billion.
A Low-Volatility Name Carrying a Front-Week Premium
BRK.B is usually one of the calmer large caps in the options market, and the chain reflects that even here. Cboe delayed quotes at Friday's close showed 30-day implied volatility near 19.4%. The November 13 weekly at the $572.50 strike, closest to the money, had a call near $8.25–$8.60 and a put near $9.45–$9.75, for a straddle of roughly $18, or about 3.2% of Friday's close. Those weekly contracts carried implied volatility near 28%, versus roughly 21% to 22% for the November 27 expiry and about 20% for December 11 — an upward kink at the front of the curve that is consistent with the market reserving room for the weekend report and Monday's gap.
On Friday the chain traded about 24,785 calls and 20,147 puts across expiries on the same Cboe snapshot, a fairly balanced tape rather than a lopsided bet in either direction. Delayed Yahoo Finance options data is another reference for the book; neither source represents a fill.
What a Weekend Gap Does to Short and Long Premium
Because Saturday's release lands between sessions, Monday's open will reveal in one print whether the stock moves more or less than the roughly 3% the November 13 straddle prepaid. Long straddles and strangles need the gap — plus any follow-through during the week — to exceed that cost before front-week implied volatility settles back toward the 20%-area levels further out the curve. Short premium sellers face the opposite risk: a gap beyond the break-evens, near $554.50 and $590.50 on Friday's quotes, with no chance to adjust beforehand. A five-percent rally into the report and a slightly lower operating line can pull in either direction, so the weekly's elevated IV is the number to watch at the open. Our implied volatility guide explains how event premium usually compresses after the news is out, and the OCC options disclosure document describes the risks of standardized options.
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*By the OptionsPilot Editorial Team. Published November 7, 2026, 6:17 AM PT. This article is for education only and is not investment advice. Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors.*
