Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel puts big chunk of cash to work

Greg Abel, now in his second quarter as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, has put a substantial portion of the company's large cash reserves to work, according to CNBC. The spending marks one of the clearest signals yet of his approach to capital deployment since formally succeeding Warren Buffett at the helm of the conglomerate earlier this year.

Among the moves, Berkshire repurchased $4.5 billion of its own shares during the quarter, a notable step up in the pace of buybacks. The repurchases suggest Abel views the stock as attractively priced relative to the conglomerate's cash pile, which had grown to record levels under Buffett's more cautious recent stance toward acquisitions and large-scale spending.

Investors have been watching closely for signs of how Abel would manage Berkshire's capital allocation differently from his predecessor, given the enormous size of the company's balance sheet. The scale of this quarter's spending offers an early data point, though analysts caution it remains too early to draw firm conclusions about his long-term strategy and priorities.