Warren Buffett buys back record US$5.1b stock

Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday it bought back a record amount of its own stock during the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic dented operations for Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, CNBC reports.

The company said it repurchased US$5.1 billion worth in stock in May and June. Berkshire repurchased more than US$4.6 billion of its Class B stock and about US$486.6 million in Class A shares.

The share repurchase is the most ever in a single period for Buffett, nearly double the US$2.2 billion the conglomerate bought back in the final quarter of 2019. In fact, the amount is slightly more than what Buffett spent buying back Berkshire stock in all of 2019. Despite the company’s record buybacks last quarter, the Berkshire’s cash hoard grew to more than US$140 billion.

Berkshire Class A and Class B shares plunged more than 19% in the first quarter and lagged the S&P 500 during the second quarter with declines of more than 1 percent.