Reported from the source

Quick summary: Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares fell 1.7% on Friday as Greg Abel formally began his tenure as chief executive, succeeding Warren Buffett after his six-decade leadership. Buffett, who remains chairman, had sought to reassure investors about the company’s future under Abel.

Investors reacted to the formal end of Warren Buffett’s six-decade tenure as chief executive and the start of a new era under successor Greg Abel, causing Class A shares to slip 1.7% in afternoon trading on Abel’s first day as CEO. This follows Buffett’s official handoff of the role, marking the close of a storied leadership tenure. Buffett, 95, remains chairman and has expressed confidence in Abel, stating that Abel will have final authority over capital allocation decisions and that he would rather have Abel handling his money than top investment advisors or CEOs. Berkshire Hathaway ended 2025 with a 10.9% gain, marking its 10th consecutive year of positive returns, though it trailed the S&P 500’s 16.4% advance. The company currently holds a record $381.6 billion in cash as of the end of September. Buffett’s leadership saw Berkshire transform from a struggling textile maker into a compounding powerhouse, delivering a compounded annual gain of 19.9% from 1964 through 2024, nearly double the S&P 500’s 10.4%, for an overall return exceeding 5.5 million percent. However, Berkshire shares had lagged the broader market since Buffett announced his retirement in May, as some investors questioned whether Abel could maintain the conglomerate’s premium valuation and oversee its vast operations with the same expertise.

Source: www.cnbc.com