Berkshire Hathaway shows signs of appetite ahead of earnings report

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is finally showing a bit more of an appetite. Buffett’s conglomerate began putting more of its $137 billion cash pile to work after a period of relative silence during the start of the pandemic, striking a deal for natural-gas assets in July and even snapping up at least $2 billion of Bank of America stock in recent weeks through August 4.

Now, investors will learn on Saturday whether that appetite extended to the conglomerate’s own stock, as some analysts say buybacks may have risen to a record. Berkshire is expected to report second-quarter earnings that day, results that could show that gains in the stock portfolio drove net income to the highest ever for a company in the S&P 500.