In 1965, legendary investor Warren Buffett took management of Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile maker. He then turned it into an funding conglomerate and one of the crucial carefully watched firms on the earth.
In Might 2025, Buffett introduced plans to step down as chief govt, beginning in 2026. He handed the position to longtime lieutenant Greg Abel.
On Feb. 28, Abel posted his first shareholder letter as CEO, together with Berkshire Hathaway’s This fall earnings report and full-year 2025 outcomes.
The 63-year-old paid tribute to Buffett whereas vowing that Berkshire Hathaway won’t pull again on investing or change its longstanding technique.
“We preserve a fortress-like stability sheet, making certain Berkshire’s basis isn’t compromised,” Abel wrote. “We protect this monetary power by utilizing debt sparingly and prudently. Our substantial liquidity allows us to fulfill our obligations even below essentially the most adversarial circumstances and to reply swiftly when alternatives come up.”
Buffett will proceed to play a key position. After stepping off, he’ll nonetheless function Berkshire’s chairman, “within the workplace 5 days every week and out there to us as we underwrite insurance coverage, function our non-insurance companies and deploy capital together with fairness investments,” Abel stated.
In 2025, Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares (BRK.A) rose 10.85% and Class B (BRK.B) shares gained 10.89%, trailing the S&P 500’s 16.39% return for the 12 months.
As of Feb. 27, the Class A shares are up 0.29% and B shares are up 0.46% 12 months thus far, in contrast with the S&P 500’s 0.49% achieve.
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Nonetheless, Berkshire follows a price investing path and all the time tells traders to pay little consideration to its short-term efficiency.
Berkshire stays financially sturdy, with its money and U.S. Treasury holdings standing at $373.3 billion, down barely from the third quarter’s $382 billion.
“Whereas a few of this capital is required to assist our insurance coverage operations and shield Berkshire in opposition to excessive eventualities, it additionally constitutes our dry powder,” Abel wrote.
Berkshire Hathaway on Feb. 28 reported a significant decline in its working earnings, partly on account of weak spot in its insurance coverage enterprise.
Earnings from operations had been $10.2 billion in This fall, down greater than 29% from $14.56 billion a 12 months in the past. For full-year 2025, Berkshire delivered working earnings of $44.5 billion, under 2024’s $47.4 billion however above the $37.5 billion common over the previous 5 years.
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Berkshire earned $7.2 billion from insurance coverage underwriting final 12 months, a 19.5% drop from 2024.
