(This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis about Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Friday night.)
Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO likes the surprising change of direction Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO announced this week Kraft Heinz.
During the food company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Steve Cahillane said that since joining the company five weeks ago, “we have found that the opportunities are greater than expected and many of the challenges are fixable and within our control.”
As a result, he decided to “pause work” on plans to separate Kraft from Heinz, which were announced last September. That would effectively cancel the merger that Warren Buffett orchestrated in 2015.
Berkshire is KHC’s largest shareholder, currently holding a 27.5% stake worth $8.1 billion.
Berkshire CEO Greg Abel supported the change in a statement to CNBC and other media outlets. “We support CEO Steve Cahillane and the Kraft Heinz Board of Directors’ decision to suspend work on the previously planned separation under Steve’s new leadership, allowing management to work to strengthen Kraft Heinz’s competitiveness and customer service.”
Characters at Berkshire Hathaway’s Kraft Heinz booth pose with reporters during shareholder shopping day as part of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting over the weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, May 5, 2017.
Rick Wilking | Reuters
Buffett doesn’t usually criticize Berkshire’s management, but when the split plan was announced more than five months ago, he voiced his opposition unusually and loudly.
In an off-camera call with CNBC’s Becky Quick, he said he was “disappointed” and did not rule out selling some or all of his Berkshire shares.
“Sure, it wasn’t a great idea to put them together, but I don’t think breaking them down will solve the problem.”
Just three weeks ago, Mr. Abel appeared to signal that he would significantly reduce Berkshire’s KHC position by registering “up to” 99.9% of the 325.6 million shares he reported holding as of Sept. 30 with the SEC as “possible for resale.”
Kraft Heinz’s decision to remain intact may help prevent such a potential sale from becoming a reality.
Did Berkshire’s preparations to sell its KHC stake play a role in Keirane’s reversal?
We don’t know for sure, but if that were to happen, and it was a deliberate effort to put pressure on KHC, it would be a significant departure from Mr. Buffett’s long-standing policy of hands-off when it comes to the companies in Berkshire’s stock portfolio.
Kraft Heinz shares fell after the separation was announced on Wednesday morning, but quickly rebounded to end the week with a modest 0.7% gain.
upcoming attractions
Berkshire Hathaway is expected to file an updated portfolio snapshot with the SEC after the closing bell on Tuesday.
We will reveal the shares held as of December 31st, the end of the fourth quarter.
Key questions include:
Greg Abel speaks at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 4, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
CNBC
Looking further ahead, Greg Abel’s first annual letter to shareholders will be released on Saturday, February 28th at approximately 8 a.m. ET (7 a.m. CT), according to a Berkshire news release.
The company’s annual report and fourth quarter earnings release will be released simultaneously, along with information about Berkshire’s May 2 shareholder meeting.
Buffett and Berkshire on the Internet
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CNBC’s Buffett Archive Highlights
Buffett and Munger Recommended Books (1994)
Audience Question: What were the best three books you read last year outside of the investment field? One is fine.
Warren Buffett: I’ll give you — first, I’ll promote a book that I’ve read but hasn’t released yet. But it will be September.
I think there’s a woman in the audience who wrote this, and it’s a biography of Ben Graham by Janet Lowe, and it’s going to be published in September. I also read it, and I think anyone interested in investing will definitely enjoy it. She was successful in capturing Ben.
One of the books that I really enjoyed was written by a shareholder who’s not here today or tomorrow, maybe tomorrow, to be sworn in as president of the Voice of America.
That’s Jeff Cowan’s book about The People vs. Clarence Darrow. This is the story of the Clarence Darrow trial, essentially jury bribery, that took place in Los Angeles around 1912, when the McNamara brothers bombed the LA Times.
It’s a fascinating book. Jeff revealed a lot of information that wasn’t in previous biographies of Darrow. I hope you enjoy it…
Charlie Munger: Well, I really enjoyed Connie Brooke’s biography, Master of the Game. This was a biography of Steve Ross, president of Warner and later co-chairman of Time Warner.
Warren Buffett: Yeah, he’s more than a co-chairman. (lol)
Charlie Munger: Yeah, and — she’s a very insightful writer and it’s a very interesting story.
I am rereading a book that I really like. It’s Van Doren’s biography of Benjamin Franklin, published in 1952 (1938), and I almost forgot what a great book it was. And it’s available in paperback everywhere. There is no one like Franklin in this country. Never again.
berkshire stock watch
BRK.A stock price: $751,425.00
BRK.B stock price: $497.55
BRK.BP/E (TTM): 15.91
Berkshire Market Capitalization: $1,076,049,449,409
Berkshire Cash as of September 30: $381.7 billion (up 10.9% from June 30)
Excluding railroad cash and outstanding Treasury bills: $354.3 billion (4.3% increase from June 30)
There have been no repurchases of Berkshire stock since May 2024.
(All figures are as of the date of publication, unless otherwise noted)
Berkshire’s Top Stock Holdings – February 13, 2026
Berkshire’s top U.S. and Japanese listed stocks by market capitalization, based on the latest closing prices.
Holdings are as of September 30, 2025, as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s November 14, 2025 13F filing. However, the following cases are excluded.
A complete list of holdings and current market value is available on CNBC.com’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
Question or comment
If you have any questions or comments about the newsletter, please send them to alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, we do not forward questions or comments to Mr. Buffett himself.)
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I also highly recommend Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders. It’s collected here on Berkshire’s website.
— Alex Crippen, Warren Buffett Watch Editor
