Berkshire Hathaway shares fall as Warren Buffett leaves and Greg Abel era begins

Berkshire Hathaway Stocks fell Friday as investors digested the official end of Warren Buffett’s six-decade tenure as chief executive and the start of a new era under his successor Greg Abel.

Class A shares fell 1.7% in the afternoon of Abel’s first day as CEO, following Official transfer of role to Buffett and the conclusion of one of the most significant leadership tenures in the company’s history.

The Omaha-based conglomerate ended 2025 with a gain of 10.9%, trailing the S&P 500’s 16.4% advance, but marking its 10th consecutive year of positive returns. Buffett, 95, remains chairman and has sought to reassure shareholders that Berkshire’s future extends well beyond his tenure.

“I think it has a better chance of being around in 100 years than any company I can think of,” Buffett said. said in a special interview with CNBC.

Abel takes over as Berkshire has a record $381.6 billion in cash at the end of September, following a long period of net stock selling. Buffett said Abel will have final authority over capital allocation decisions.

“Greg will be the decision maker,” Buffett said. I “can’t imagine how much more he can accomplish in a week than I can in a month…I’d rather Greg manage my money than one of the top investment advisors or one of the biggest CEOs in the United States.”

Berkshire shares lagged the broader market after Buffett announced his retirement in May, as some investors questioned whether Abel could oversee the conglomerate’s vast operational businesses and stock portfolio with the same touch, while justifying a premium valuation.

Buffett leaves with an unrivaled record. After taking control of Berkshire in the mid-1960s, he transformed a struggling textile manufacturer into a typesetting powerhouse. From 1964 to 2024, Berkshire achieved a compound annual gain of 19.9%, nearly double the S&P 500’s 10.4%, resulting in an overall return of more than 5.5 million percent.