Berkshire, Broadcom & Nucor Are Revving Their Buyback Engines

Key Points

• Berkshire Hathaway is signaling that its shares are below their intrinsic value as it restarts buyback spending.
• Chips giant Broadcom likely sees something similar in its stock as the firm's buyback activity is picking up big-time.
• Steel giant Nucor has surged over the past 52 weeks and now has large buyback capacity.

Two stocks with market capitalizations over $1 trillion and North America’s top dog in steel production just made significant buyback announcements. All three of these companies are indicating confidence in their outlooks going forward, with the world’s largest financial services stock clearly believing that investors are undervaluing it.

Berkshire Announces Resumption of Buybacks After Almost Two-Year Hiatus

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway NYSE: BRK.B is one of the most renowned investment firms of all time. Additionally, it is one of just 12 companies in the world with a market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion. It also stands alone as the only financial services firm that can claim a spot in the $1 trillion club.

Despite the company’s historic success, things have been a bit rough lately. Shares have dropped following the company’s past four earnings reports, including a nearly 5% fall after its latest release.

This came as the company missed estimates significantly, with operating earnings dropping 30%. This was largely due to weakness in Berkshire’s insurance business, where underwriting earnings fell by 54%.

Overall, during the past 52 weeks, Berkshire shares have been flat to slightly down.

Unlike most other companies, Berkshire doesn’t explicitly announce share buyback authorizations tied to a specific dollar figure. A 2018 amendment to its buyback policy allows it to make repurchases at any time when it believes shares are “below Berkshire’s intrinsic value, conservatively determined.”

The company evidently believes this to be the case in early 2026. In a recent SEC filing, the firm said: “We are disclosing that we commenced repurchasing shares of our common stock under this policy on Wednesday, March 4, 2026." The extent of these repurchases is unknown at this time, but Berkshire is clearly indicating that it sees value in its shares. Notably, the firm had not repurchased stock since mid-2024.

AVGO Undertakes Huge Buyback Spending and Reloads Its Chest

Semiconductor behemoth Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO, another member of the $1 trillion club, is also restarting its buyback engine. Broadcom’s business is putting up very strong results, driven by demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.

In its latest quarter, the company beat estimates on both sales and adjusted earnings per share and provided much better-than-expected guidance for next quarter. The company also said it sees a path to generating over $100 billion in AI revenue during its fiscal year 2027, which roughly lines up with the 2027 calendar year.

For reference, that would be 46% more than the $68.3 billion in total revenue the firm generated over the last 12 months. That $100 billion figure doesn’t include non-AI semiconductor sales or Broadcom’s infrastructure software, which together accounted for 56% of total revenue last quarter.

Despite this, Broadcom shares are down approximately 20% from their all-time high.

The company’s buyback actions point to the idea that Broadcom believes the market undervalues it. Last quarter, Broadcom spent $7.8 billion on buybacks, its second-highest quarterly spending ever. This comes as the firm had not made any significant repurchases over the previous two quarters.

The company followed this up by announcing a $10 billion repurchase authorization. While this is equal to less than 1% of the firm’s massive +$1.5 trillion market capitalization, it is a signal of confidence nonetheless. Notably, the repurchase program is only effective through the end of 2026. This short timeframe suggests that Broadcom wants to take advantage of the weakness in its share price by repurchasing stock at a relatively quick pace.

NUE’s Buyback Capacity Exceeds 10% as Shares Put Up Impressive Gains

Last up is Nucor NYSE: NUE, a giant in the North American steel production industry. Based on 2024 data, Nucor produced the most steel of any North American company. However, firms located in Asia dominate the industry, putting Nucor outside of the top 10 in worldwide steel production. Nucor stock has done well over the past 52 weeks, delivering a total return of about 25%.

Several key factors have benefited Nucor. First off, steel tariffs have reduced U.S. imports from foreign competitors, supporting domestic demand for the company’s products.

Nucor notes that the foreign share of the U.S. finished steel market stood near 25% at the beginning of 2025. By November of 2025, it is estimated that this percentage fell to 14%. In 2026, Nucor expects this percentage to hold steady or trend lower.

Demand from the company’s primary end markets, including infrastructure, data centers, and energy, is also strong.

These factors helped Nucor enter 2026 with what it calls “historically strong backlogs." Its steel mill backlog rose 40% year over year, and its steel products backlog rose 15%.

As it benefits from both supply and demand dynamics, Nucor recently announced a $4 billion share buyback program. This new program is hefty, being equal to almost 11% of the company’s approximately $37 billion market capitalization. This gives the firm the ability to return substantial capital to shareholders over time.

AVGO’s Buybacks Signal Undervaluation as AI Demand Explodes

Among this group, Broadcom’s recent spike in buyback activity and its new authorization stand out. It's likely that the firm doesn’t believe its results and outlook align with the large drawdown in its stock price. These are two confidence-inspiring moves for a company that is at the heart of the AI infrastructure buildout.