(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 stock is down about 1% this week. S&P500 It rose 0.6% to end the week at a new high.
of a and B The stock is currently down 13% from its closing high in early May, nearly a year ago, just before Warren Buffett announced his plans to step down as CEO at the end of 2025.
The S&P rose 26% over the same period.
But Berkshire’s falling stock price has made the stock more attractive to some.
At the company’s current price, “not a lot needs to go right for it to generate market-beating returns, even without Warren Buffett at the helm,” Andrew Barry wrote in a featured analysis in Barron’s magazine.
Christopher Davis of Hudson Value Partners reportedly said that investors are overlooking Berkshire when buying “HALO” (heavy asset, low obsolescence) stocks such as: caterpillar To avoid potential disruptions caused by AI. (The term was coined by “Halftime Report” regular Josh Brown.)
“Berkshire is the ultimate HALO company, given the durability and inflation protection of the insurance business and the very hard-to-replicate industrial operations business,” Davis argues.
He calls the current stock price a “coiled spring.”
Share buybacks are also a potential positive.
UBS analyst Brian Meredith estimated in a note to clients this week that Berkshire is trading at an 8% discount to its intrinsic value. The company’s stated policy is to buy back its own shares “if the repurchase price is less than our conservatively determined intrinsic value.”
A March filing revealed that Berkshire had resumed stock buybacks for the first time in nearly two years, but details were not disclosed.
Prices have fallen about 4% since then, so Meredith expects the company to remain a buy. He has raised his 2026 buyback forecast from zero to $1.7 billion, which he believes will make the stock even more attractive to investors.
However, Barron’s notes that “there is probably room for improvement on both operational and investment fronts.”
“Berkshire’s operating revenue was flat last year, and we would like to see Greg Abel confront the problem and outline a plan to improve margins and revenue,” CRFA analyst Kathy Seifert said in a statement.
He will have a chance to do so in a week at the Berkshire shareholder meeting, which will be broadcast live on CNBC.com.
Abel ‘drops’ Combs’ position as portfolio manager retires – WSJ
Mr. Abel will also be asked what he plans to do with Berkshire’s roughly $400 billion in cash and stock investments.
The Wall Street Journal included some big news in the 10th paragraph of its profile of Abel’s first 100 days as CEO.
“Mr. Abel has already sold the stock managed by Todd Combs, who recently left JPMorgan Chase & Co., and is unlikely to hire anyone to help manage his portfolio, according to people familiar with Berkshire’s investments.”
This will give Mr. Abel direct responsibility for 94% of the portfolio not currently handled by another portfolio manager Mr. Buffett hired several years ago, Ted Weschler.
Gregory Abel, vice chairman who oversees Berkshire Hathaway’s non-insurance operations, meets with shareholders in the exhibit hall during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. on May 3, 2024.
Scott Morgan | Reuters
Combs was responsible for about 5% of the roughly $320 billion portfolio, so if all his shares were completely “unloaded,” the sales would be worth about $16 billion.
Berkshire doesn’t typically reveal who buys specific stocks in its portfolio, but Mr. Combs is thought to have a preference for technology and finance.
We already know that Berkshire has sold 77% of its stake. Amazon.com During the fourth quarter, the stock was valued at $1.8 billion based on the December 31 closing price.
This may have been part of a Post-Coms-related pitch since he left office in early December.
Todd Combs heads to the morning session of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Media Conference on July 7, 2021 in Sun Valley, Idaho, USA.
Brian Rosnesreuter
Mr. Combs previously had ties to Berkshire. visa and master card Collection.
baron’s list constellation brand, verisign, capital one financialand kroger Other possible Combs names as well.
Constellation stock was cut 3%, or about $55 million, in the fourth quarter.
The combined value of all these names was approximately $16.4 billion as of Dec. 31.
We could learn more about the sell-off at next week’s meeting, and the next required portfolio snapshot is expected to be released in mid-May, covering first-quarter activity.
Walmart overtakes Berkshire in market capitalization
In the past year, walmart Both Berkshire classes fell nearly 12%, but soared more than 35%.
As a result, Wal-Mart’s market capitalization surpassed that of Berkshire’s this week, making it the nation’s ninth most valuable company.
Barron’s points out that the last time Walmart had a market capitalization larger than Berkshire was in April 2013.
Buffett praises outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook will attend the 2024 Berkshire Annual Meeting.
Scott Morgan/Reuters
“Apple wouldn’t be the Apple it is today without Tim Cook,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick.
“Nobody I know could do what he did at Apple.
“He covers the world, gets along with countries of all kinds of histories, does the right thing for his customers, the people who work for them, and certainly his shareholders, and we’re lucky to be one of them…He’s one of a kind.”
Berkshire’s Apple stock has been reduced by 75% from the summer of 2023 to the end of the first quarter of this year, but it remains the largest in a portfolio of stocks with a market capitalization of about $62 billion.
Buffett also praised Cook at last year’s annual meeting. You can see the clip in “Archive Highlights” below.
Buffett will not be on stage, but requests for shareholder tickets are about the same as in recent years.
The company says Warren Buffett’s exit from the stage at next week’s Berkshire annual meeting will not significantly reduce attendance.
That shows CNBC’s credential requests are roughly in line with past years. It’s a little lower than 2024 and 2025, but not by much, and it’s ahead of 2023.
Berkshire also points out that Buffett hasn’t been the only person in the spotlight over the years. He estimates Nebraska residents will make up about 60% of the attendees, with particular focus on shareholder discounts from local Berkshire retailers Nebraska Furniture Mart and Bolsheim’s.
Shareholders wait to enter the Berkshire Hathaway annual general meeting on May 3, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Berkshire posted a map with the recommended route to the CHI Health Center Arena to help attendees, especially motorists, avoid the rumblings caused by construction of Omaha’s new streetcar system.
The company also announced a new policy this year that will limit stockholders’ purchases to “clear colorless plastic tote bags,” “1-gallon clear plastic freezer bags,” and “small or clutch-sized opaque wallets/purses” that are less than 4.5 inches tall and 6.5 inches long.
Live streaming coverage on CNBC.com begins at 9:15 a.m. ET with the pregame show.
CEO Greg Abel will present Berkshire’s Business Update at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by an initial Q&A session with Abel and insurance chief Ajit Jain at 10:30 a.m. ET.
CNBC’s halftime show is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. ET, and a second Q&A session is scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. ET, featuring Abel, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer, and NetJets CEO and President of Consumer Products, Services and Retail Adam Johnson.
As in previous years, CNBC’s Becky Quick will relay shareholder questions selected from questions submitted to berkshirequestions@cnbc.com.
Shareholders selected by lottery at each of the 10 microphone locations at 8:15 a.m. local time will also attend the general meeting and ask questions.
The CNBC Post show begins at 2pm ET.
The formal meeting of the General Meeting of Shareholders will begin at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. It will not be included in CNBC’s live broadcast.
Buffett and Berkshire on the Internet
Some links may require a subscription.
CNBC’s Buffett Archive Highlights
“Tim Cook has brought much more to Berkshire than I have” (2025)
Warren Buffett: This is the only investment quarterly call I’m listening to, but I’m listening to Tim Cook, and I understand — and it’s going to be hard for me to see him from here — but Tim Cook — he’s out there. (applause)
I’m a little embarrassed to say that the benefits that Tim Cook has brought to Berkshire are far greater than the benefits that I have brought to Berkshire Hathaway. So — (laughter)
I think he should be praised for his work.
I knew a little bit about Steve Jobs, and of course Steve did something in the development of Apple that no one else could.
But Steve chose Tim as his successor, and he really made the right decision. As you know, Steve died young.
And while no one but Steve could have created Apple, no one but Tim could have developed Apple to what it is today.
So, on behalf of all of Berkshire, I would like to thank you. (applause)
berkshire stock watch
BRK.A stock price: $704,760.00
BRK.B stock price: $469.32
BRK.BP/E (TTM): 15.12
Berkshire Market Capitalization: $1,012,661,284,805
Berkshire Cash as of December 31: $373.3 billion (down 2.2% from September 30)
Excluding railroad cash and outstanding Treasury bills: $369 billion (4.1% increase from September 30)
Berkshire resumed stock buybacks on March 4, 2026, but has not disclosed whether it has made additional purchases since then.
(All figures are as of the date of publication, unless otherwise noted)
Berkshire’s Top Stock Holdings – April 24, 2026
Berkshire’s top U.S. and Japanese listed stocks by market capitalization, based on the latest closing prices.
Holdings are as of December 31, 2025, as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s February 17, 2026 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.)
If you haven’t subscribed to this newsletter yet, you can sign up here.
I also highly recommend Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders. It’s collected here on Berkshire’s website.
— Alex Crippen, Warren Buffett Watch Editor
