Berkshire Hathaway has not declared a cash dividend to its shareholders since 1967. Instead, it retains earnings when management believes they can create more value inside the company and may repurchase shares when its CEO, after consulting the board chair, conservatively judges them to be worth less than intrinsic value. The choice is conditional—not a standing promise of dividends or regular buybacks. Berkshire reported no repurchases in 2025, then reported purchases in May and June 2026; the latest activity covered here is through June 30, 2026.
What Berkshire’s dividend and buyback policies actually say
Berkshire’s 2025 annual report says it will not pay cash 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. The company’s 2025 Form 10-K says it had not declared a cash dividend since 1967. These statements concern cash dividends Berkshire might pay its own shareholders—not dividends Berkshire receives from companies it owns.
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The repurchase policy is separate. Under the program amended in 2025, the CEO may authorize purchases after consultation with the board chair when Berkshire’s stock price is below a conservatively determined estimate of intrinsic value. Purchases may be made in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The authorization sets neither a required purchase amount nor a maximum share count, and it does not obligate Berkshire to buy shares. Berkshire will not repurchase shares if doing so would reduce its cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury Bills below $30 billion. Berkshire’s 2025 annual report and its second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q describe these terms.
What Berkshire has done—and the dates that matter
Berkshire’s 2025 Form 10-K reports zero shares repurchased during 2025. It also reports $369.0 billion in cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury Bills at December 31, 2025, net of unsettled purchases. That balance is a dated year-end figure, not a statement of the company’s later cash position.
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The Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 reports no purchases in April, followed by purchases in May and June:
| Month in 2026 | Class A shares repurchased | Average Class A price | Class B shares repurchased | Average Class B price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 0 | Not applicable; no purchases reported (Berkshire Hathaway, second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q) | 0 | Not applicable; no purchases reported (Berkshire Hathaway, second-quarter 2026 Form 10-Q) |
| May | 65 | $716,231.37 | 1,458,312 | $476.01 |
| June | 413 | $733,775.06 | 7,139,881 | $487.98 |
The share counts and average prices are Berkshire’s reported monthly figures. They establish that the authorization was used in May and June, not that purchases will continue at the same pace or recur. The reporting cutoff here is June 30, 2026; these figures should not be read as full-year 2026 activity.
How to compare a buyback with a dividend
“Does Berkshire return more value through buybacks or dividends?” has no answer based on the payment method alone. A useful comparison considers the price paid, the company’s other uses for capital, its need for liquidity and whether an investor needs cash now or prefers the value of retained capital to compound.
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Price paid versus estimated value
A buyback uses company cash to acquire shares. If shares are repurchased below their true value, continuing shareholders can benefit; if the company pays too much, the transaction can destroy value for them. Berkshire’s stated safeguard is to buy only when management conservatively judges the market price below intrinsic value. Intrinsic value is an estimate, not an observable market quote, so the criterion depends on management’s assessment rather than a mechanically verifiable price threshold.
What happens to continuing owners
When a company repurchases shares and retires them, each shareholder who keeps their shares owns a larger proportion of the remaining shares. Berkshire’s 2025 annual report describes its repurchases as allowing owners to hold an incrementally larger piece of its businesses without deploying additional capital themselves. That effect is valuable only if the price and circumstances make the repurchase a sound use of company funds.
A dividend works differently: it sends cash to shareholders in proportion to their holdings. It does not increase the proportional ownership of those who keep their shares. A shareholder who wants to maintain an investment after receiving a dividend must decide what to do with the cash; a shareholder who does not sell into a buyback receives no direct payment from that transaction.
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Liquidity and investment alternatives
Berkshire’s $30 billion minimum cash, cash-equivalents and Treasury-bill balance is a stated guardrail on repurchases, not a declaration that all cash above that level is available for distribution. Liquidity can support resilience and leave capital available for future investments. A buyback or dividend should therefore be compared with the returns management expects from retaining earnings and other investment opportunities—not treated as a simple contest between a buyback yield and a dividend yield.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Berkshire CEO Gregory E. Abel wrote in the 2025 annual report: “We will effectively and efficiently return capital to our owners through share repurchases when the value proposition is compelling.” The conditional wording matters: the policy leaves room for the company to retain cash or pursue other uses when management considers them more attractive. Abel also acknowledged the challenge of size: “At Berkshire’s scale, the math of compounding works against us – a reality long understood and best acknowledged plainly.”
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Whether you need cash income
A dividend offers cash directly, while a repurchase does not pay continuing shareholders. Investors who rely on portfolio income may value that distinction; investors focused on long-term ownership may instead favor a company retaining capital when it can use it productively. Berkshire’s policy explains how management approaches the decision, but it does not establish that the same choice is best for every company or investor.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse dividends Berkshire pays with dividends it receives
Berkshire’s no-dividend history concerns payments to its own shareholders. The company also collects dividends from companies in its investment portfolio. In its 2025 shareholder letter, Berkshire reported these receipts from selected holdings, in millions of dollars:
| Holdings | Companies listed | Dividends received in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Selected U.S. holdings | Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Moody’s | $1.668 billion |
| Selected Japanese holdings | Mitsubishi, ITOCHU, Mitsui, Marubeni and Sumitomo | $862 million |
| Combined listed positions | The four U.S. and five Japanese holdings above | $2.5 billion, as reported by Berkshire |
The individual 2025 amounts Berkshire reported were $280 million from Apple, $479 million from American Express, $816 million from Coca-Cola and $93 million from Moody’s; the Japanese holdings contributed $273 million from Mitsubishi, $181 million from ITOCHU, $201 million from Mitsui, $105 million from Marubeni and $102 million from Sumitomo. These are Berkshire’s reported receipts from the named companies in 2025—not dividends paid to Berkshire shareholders and not a forecast of future income. The figures appear in the 2025 shareholder letter.
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How to use Berkshire’s example as an investor
Berkshire’s policies offer a framework for judging capital allocation, not a universal rule. When comparing a company’s buybacks and dividends, ask:
- Does management have a credible basis for deciding shares are undervalued before repurchasing them?
- Would retained earnings plausibly create more value in the business or in other investments?
- Does the company preserve enough liquidity for its obligations and resilience?
- Will a buyback increase continuing owners’ proportional stake on reasonable terms, or would cash be more useful in shareholders’ hands?
- Do you need current cash income, or are you comfortable with value remaining invested?
- Are the reported buybacks a dated episode or evidence of a recurring policy? Berkshire’s filings through June 30, 2026 establish activity in May and June, not a continuing purchase rate.
For primary-source context, Berkshire’s shareholder letters include its annual explanations of capital allocation. The official index also notes that a compilation of Warren Buffett’s shareholder letters from 1965 through 2024 is available for sale; it is background reading, not a current valuation guide or a recommendation to buy Berkshire shares.
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