Berkshire attracts interest as it slips further behind the S&P 500
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Berkshire Hathaway shares are down about 1% this week. S&P 500 finished the week with a 0.6 percent increase fresh all-time high.
A. And B. Shares fell 13% from their all-time high closing levels in early May almost a year ago, just before Warren Buffett announced plans to do so. resign as CEO By the end of 2025.
S&P gained 26% in value during the same period.
But the decline in Berkshire’s stock price makes the shares more attractive to some.
One featured Barron’s analysisAndrew Bary says that at the company’s current price, “not a whole lot needs to go right to generate above-market returns — even without Warren Buffett at the helm.” he writes.
Christopher Davis of Hudson Value Partners is quoted as saying investors overlooked Berkshire when buying.HALO” (Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence) stocks Caterpillar To prevent potential AI outages. (The term was coined with “Halftime Report” organised Josh Brown.)
“Given the durability of its insurance business and inflation protection, as well as industrial lines of business that are very difficult to replicate, Berkshire is the ultimate HALO company,” Davis argues.
He calls the stock a “coil spring” at its current price.
Share buybacks are another potential positive development.
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 repurchase shares “when the repurchase price is below our conservatively determined intrinsic value.”
In March, a filing revealed that Berkshire buybacks continued for the first time in almost two years, but gave no details.
With the price down nearly 4% since then, Meredith expects the company to continue buying. He is raising his 2026 buyback expectations from 0 to $1.7 billion, which he thinks will make the stock more attractive to investors.
Barron’s But “there is probably room for improvement on the operational and investment side,” he says.
CRFA analyst Cathy Seifert is quoted as saying: “Operating income was flat at Berkshire last year. I’d like to see Greg Abel confront the problems and chart out a plan for profit and revenue growth.”
He’ll have the chance to do so at the Berkshire shareholders meeting in a week. Live on CNBC.com.
Abel ‘vacated’ Combs’ positions after portfolio manager leaves – WSJ
Abel will also take questions about what Berkshire plans to do with its nearly $400 billion in cash and equity investments.
One Profile of Abel’s first 100 days As CEO, Wall StreetJournal Some big news dropped in the tenth paragraph.
Abel has already offloaded stocks managed by Todd Combs, who recently moved to JPMorgan Chase, and is “unlikely to hire anyone to help manage the portfolio,” people familiar with Berkshire’s investments said.
This leaves Abel directly responsible for the 94% of the portfolio that is not currently managed by Ted Weschler, the other portfolio manager Buffett hired years ago.
Gregory Abel, executive vice president of non-insurance operations for Berkshire Hathaway, meets with shareholders in the exhibit hall during the Berkshire Hathaway Inc annual shareholders meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.
Scott Morgan | Reuters
Since Combs is responsible for about 5% of the roughly $320 billion portfolio, the value of the sales would be around $16 billion if all of his holdings were completely “unloaded.”
Although Berkshire generally does not specify who is buying specific stocks in the portfolio, Combs is thought to favor technology and finance.
we already know Berkshire sold 77 percent his amazon.com The stock was worth $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter based on its Dec. 31 closing price.
This may have been part of the selling spree in the post-Combs era, since he too left. early december.
Todd Combs at the annual Allen and Co. ceremony held in Sun Valley, Idaho, USA, on July 7, 2021. He’s heading to the morning session of the Sun Valley media conference.
Brian Lost | Reuters
Combs was previously linked to Berkshire Visa And MasterCard holdings.
Barron’s lists Constellation Brands, VeriSign, Capital One FinanceAnd Kroger as other possible Combs names.
Constellation shares were reduced by 3%, or about $55 million, in the fourth quarter.
The total value of all these names was approximately $16.4 billion as of December 31.
We may learn more about sales at next week’s meeting, and the next required portfolio snapshot covering activity in the first quarter will be released in mid-May.
Walmart surpasses Berkshire in market value
Shares last year Walmart Both of Berkshire’s classes are up more than 35% while falling by almost 12%.
As a result, Walmart’s market capitalization surpassed Berkshire’s this week, making the retailer the ninth most valuable company in the United States.
Barron’s notes The last time Walmart had a larger market cap than Berkshire was April 2013.
Buffett praises outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook is coming to the 2024 Berkshire annual shareholders meeting.
Scott Morgan/Reuters
“Apple wouldn’t be the Apple it is today if it weren’t for Tim Cook,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick.
“No one I know could have done what he did to Apple.
“Scanning the world and getting along with countries of all backgrounds and doing the right thing by the customer, the people who work for it, especially the shareholders, we’re lucky enough to be one of them… it’s one of a kind.”
Although Berkshire has a stake in Apple 75% cut was made It remains the largest position in the equity portfolio, with a market value of approximately $62 billion from summer 2023 to the end of the first quarter of this year.
Buffett also praised Cook at last year’s annual meeting. You can see this clip in the “Highlights from the Archive” section below.
Buffett won’t be on stage, but shareholder demand for tickets remains roughly in line with recent years
Warren Buffett not on stage According to the company, there will be no significant decrease in attendance at the annual meeting to be held in Berkshire next week.
He tells CNBC that requests for credentials are about the same as in years past. They’re slightly lower than 2024 and 2025, but not by much, and they’re running ahead of 2023.
Berkshire also notes that Buffett isn’t the only one to have a draw over the years. Nebraska residents are estimated to make up about 60% of attendance and are particularly shareholder discounts at local Berkshire retailers Nebraska Furniture Market And Borsheims.
Shareholders wait to enter the boardroom on the day of Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual shareholders meeting on May 3, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
owned by Berkshire published a map with suggested routes to the CHI Health Center area to help participants, especially those driving, avoid wheezing from traffic noise. Construction of a new streetcar system in Omaha.
It is also a new policy This year, it limits stockholders to “clear, colorless plastic tote bags,” “one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags,” and “small or clutch-size opaque purses/wallets” no larger than 4.5 inches and no longer than 6.5 inches.
Live broadcast coverage on CNBC.com begins at 9:15 ET with the pre-game show.
CEO Greg Abel is expected to provide a Berkshire “business update” at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by the first Q&A session featuring Abel and underwriting chief Ajit Jain at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The CNBC Halftime show is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. ET, and the second Q&A session will begin at 12:45 a.m. ET with 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 forward shareholders’ selected questions to berkshirequestions@cnbc.com.
Shareholders at the meeting, selected by lottery to be held at each of the 10 microphone positions at 8:15 a.m. local time, will also ask questions.
The CNBC Post Show starts at 2pm ET.
The official business session of the shareholders’ meeting begins at 3:00 PM ET. He will not be part of CNBC’s live broadcast.
BUFFETT & BERKSHİRE ON THE INTERNET
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM CNBC’S BUFFETT ARCHIVE
‘Tim Cook made more money for Berkshire than me’ (2025)
WARREN BUFFET: This is the only investment call I listen to on a quarterly basis, but I listen to Tim Cook and I get it – and it’s going to be hard for me to see it from here – but Tim Cook – there it is. (Applause)
I’m a little embarrassed to say that Tim Cook makes more money for Berkshire than I make at Berkshire Hathaway. So — (Laughter)
I – credit should be given for that –
I knew Steve Jobs briefly, and of course Steve did things that no one else could do while developing Apple.
But Steve chose Tim over him and he truly 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 it the way it did.
So, on behalf of all of Berkshire, thank you. (Applause)
BERKSHire SHARE TIME
BRK.A stock price: $704,760.00
BRK.B share price: $469.32
BRK.BP/E (TTM): 15.12
Berkshire market cap: $1,012,661,284,805
Berkshire Cash as of December 31: $373.3 billion (down 2.2% from September 30)
Excluding railroad cash and issuance of treasury bills payable: $369.0 billion (up 4.1% from September 30)
Berkshire resumed share buybacks on March 4, 2026, but did not say whether it made any additional purchases after that date.
(All figures are as of the date of publication unless otherwise stated)
BERKSHire’S LARGEST SHAREHOLDING HOLDINGS – April 24, 2026
Berkshire’s top listed publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan by market capitalization based on their latest closing prices.
Holdings as of December 31, 2025, as reported. Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing On February 17, 2026, except:
A complete list of holdings and current market values is available on CNBC.com’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Please send me any questions or comments about the newsletter at: alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (We’re sorry, but we do not forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)
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Additionally, reading Buffett’s annual letters to shareholders is highly recommended. There are people gathered on Berkshire’s website here.
— Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch
