Berkshire scoops up its own stock as pandemic hits business in Q3

Berkshire's recently been expanding its hunting horizons, with its $6 billion bet on Japanese trading houses and even a stake in the newly public Snowflake Inc.

Warren Buffett might have just found his next elephant-sized deal: Buying back his own stock.
 

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. spent $16 billion buying back its stock in the first nine months of 2020, more than triple its previous annual record. The repurchases even surpass many of Berkshire’s biggest investments in recent years, including 2019’s Occidental Petroleum Corp. financing deal, and total more than Berkshire has ever spent in one year buying Apple Inc. stock.

The record buybacks, coupled with investments in Japanese trading houses and deals for natural gas assets, mark a shift from the start of the pandemic, when Buffett,