Warren Buffett and Greg Abel attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 3, 2025.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway Stocks fell on Friday as investors digested the official end of Warren Buffett’s 60-year tenure as chief executive and the beginning of a new era under his successor, Greg Abel.
Class A shares fell 1.4% on Abel’s first day as CEO, as Buffett officially took over, ending the tenure of one of the most storied executives in corporate history.
The Omaha-based conglomerate finished 2025 up 10.9%, missing the S&P 500’s 16.4% gain but marking its 10th consecutive year of positive returns. Buffett, 95, will remain chairman and has sought to reassure shareholders that Berkshire’s future extends far beyond his term.
“I think it’s more likely than any other company I can think of to still be here 100 years from now,” Buffett said in a special interview with CNBC.
Mr. Abel will take over at Berkshire, which had a record $381.6 billion in cash at the end of September after a long period of net stock sales. Buffett said Abel will have final authority over capital allocation decisions.
“Greg will be the decider,” Buffett said. I said, “I can’t imagine how much more he can accomplish in a week than I can accomplish in a month…I’d rather have Greg handle my money than the top investment advisor or top CEO in America.”
After Buffett announced his retirement in May, Berkshire stock lagged the broader market. Some investors were considering whether Mr. Abel could oversee the conglomerate’s vast operations and stock portfolio with the same touch while justifying a premium valuation.
Mr. Buffett leaves behind an unparalleled record. After taking control of Berkshire in the mid-1960s, he transformed the struggling textile manufacturer into a major conglomerate. From 1964 to 2024, Berkshire achieved a compound annual return of 19.9%. This was nearly double the S&P 500’s 10.4%, resulting in an overall return of more than 5.5 million percent.
