6 Highlights of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 Second Quarter Report

(2)  Berkshire Hathaway cash on June 30, 2021 equals $144.1 billion down from $145.4 billion on March 31, 2021.

(3) Berkshire Hathaway’s Q2 stock buybacks equaled $6.0 billion down from $6.6 billion in Q1. The A shares were bought back at an average price of $428,138 and B shares bought back at an average price of $276.32. (Note: The B shares were bought back at an average price of $286.10 during May, 2021.)

(4) Berkshire was a net seller of stocks in Q2 by $1.1 billion, reducing holdings in “Commercial, industrial and other” by $2 billion on a cost basis. “Banks, insurance and finance” increased by $650 million on a cost basis, and “Consumer products” up by $100 million on a cost basis from Q1. (Note:  Possible reductions may have included continuing sales from the first quarter in Chevron and/or pharmaceutical stocks.) Berkshire’s portfolio as of June 30, 2021 is due to be reported after the market closes on Monday, August 16 in its SEC Form 13F filing.

(5) Berkshire’s book value per A share (Q2) = $315,088 up 7% from $294,000 (Q1). Berkshire’s price/book value = $430,160/315,088 = 1.37, slightly below average for Berkshire in recent years.

(6) Berkshire has apparently bought back 4,181 A shares (or equivalent) in Q3 through July 26 for about $1.8 billion. (At the bottom of p. 1 of the 10-Q, Berkshire reports the number of its A and B shares outstanding as of July 26. I calculated a Class A equivalent of 1,507,048 shares. From p. 19, there were 1,511,229 A shares outstanding on June 30. Therefore, 4,181 A shares were repurchased at about $420,000 per share which equals about $1.8 billion.)