Here's What $1,000 Invested in Berkshire Hathaway the Day Greg Abel Became CEO Is Worth Now
Key Points
Berkshire Hathaway stock has barely moved since Greg Abel took over as CEO.
His predecessor, Warren Buffett, had a long history of consistently beating the market.
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I've been a fan of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) for a long time, and Berkshire's been a great investment for years. The conglomerate built by Warren Buffett posted an average compounded annual return of 19.7% from 1965 to 2025 -- a huge premium compared to the S&P 500's gain of 10.5%.
Overall, Berkshire's gain of 6,099,294% under Buffett's stewardship was light-years better than the broader index's 46,061% gain in the same period. Buffett truly is a hard act to follow after his retirement as CEO at the end of 2025.
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That's what CEO Greg Abel is coming up against in his first year at the helm. So far, Abel hasn't been able to replicate Buffett's success in 2026. Since he took over, Berkshire Hathaway stock is essentially flat -- had you invested $1,000 when Abel took the top job, you'd be the proud owner of $1,005 today.
That's not a great result, by anyone's standard. In fact, Berkshire Hathaway is on track for its worst performance in over a decade.
|
Year |
Berkshire Total Return |
S&P 500 Total Return |
|---|---|---|
|
2015 |
(12.5%) |
1.4% |
|
2016 |
23.4% |
12.0% |
|
2017 |
21.9% |
21.8% |
|
2018 |
2.8% |
(4.4%) |
|
2019 |
11.0% |
31.5% |
|
2020 |
2.4% |
18.4% |
|
2021 |
29.6% |
28.7% |
|
2022 |
4.0% |
(18.1%) |
|
2023 |
15.8% |
26.3% |
|
2024 |
25.5% |
25.0% |
|
2025 |
10.9% |
17.9% |
|
2026 (as of Aug. 31) |
0.47% |
13.5% |
Data source: Berkshire Hathaway.
Should you be concerned? I don't think so
The investment thesis for Berkshire hasn't changed. As Abel wrote in his first letter to shareholders as CEO, "Our owners' time horizon extends beyond the tenure of any individual CEO."
Even though Berkshire has made notable changes to its portfolio this year, including exiting several positions, it's still a mammoth conglomerate that owns dozens of companies, including Dairy Queen, Duracell, GEICO, and the BNSF Railway. It also has a massive $359.2 billion investment portfolio that is heavy in dividend-paying stocks such as Coca-Cola, American Express, and Bank of America. Berkshire also has a strong cash position of $365.5 billion at the end of the second quarter.
Its earnings report for the second quarter was solid -- revenue of $101.81 billion that was up 10% from a year ago, net profit of $25.67 billion, and earnings of $6.02 per share. Profits from its Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit were up 27% from a year ago to $891 million, and its manufacturing, service, and retailing segment saw earnings of $4.47 billion, up 24%.
Buffett always advocated that investors keep a long view, so looking at Abel's first eight months doesn't predict what the future holds for Berkshire Hathaway's shares. But if investors were looking for a boom in the early days of his stewardship, they are surely disappointed with the stock price.
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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends American Express and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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