Prediction: Owning Berkshire Hathaway Stock Will Not Be the Same After Warren Buffett Steps Down

Source Motley_fool

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) (NYSE: BRK.A) has been a tremendous investment since the stock went public back in 1980. During that span, the insurance-led conglomerate has had only one chief executive officer: Warren Buffett. Buffett would prove himself to be one of the greatest investors of all time during his tenure at Berkshire.

However, Buffett shocked shareholders when he announced at the company's annual shareholder meeting that he would step down from the CEO role at the end of the year. Taking his place will be Greg Abel, his long-appointed successor and current head of Berkshire's energy division. Buffett will, however, stay on as a member of Berkshire's board.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Unlike Buffett, Abel is not a renowned investor. Instead, his strength lies in his operating expertise and being a shrewd dealmaker. He made a string of acquisitions to help turn a sleepy Iowa utility into a major power production and pipeline company that is now called Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Meanwhile, he has been running Berkshire's non-insurance businesses since 2018.

However, Abel will not be running Berkshire's huge investment portfolio. That job will fall to Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, whom Buffett brought on to help run that side of the business several years ago. Ajit Jain, meanwhile, will continue to run the day-to-day business of Berkshire's insurance operations.

A lot of cash and a new CEO

Buffett will leave his CEO role at Berkshire, leaving behind an unmatched legacy. He created a unique model for the insurance industry where he eschewed investing Berkshire's insurance float in safe, fixed-income investments, instead investing it in stocks. Float is the money that insurance companies collect in premiums and hold until a claim is paid out.

This decision, combined with Buffett's investment acumen, has created an enormous amount of shareholder value over the years. Buffett has a long-term investment focus, and he would buy stakes in companies he believed were undervalued that have the ability to keep compounding for decades. One of his most famous investments is Coca-Cola, which Berkshire began buying in 1988 and still holds today.

Buffett also leaves Abel and Berkshire Hathaway with a tremendous stockpile of cash. Buffett began selling stocks last year ahead of the market sell-off, while also ending the company's buyback program. Together with increased operating profits, Berkshire ended the first quarter with a whopping $347.7 billion in cash on its balance sheet.

Despite the recent market volatility, Buffett also didn't seem eager to run out to buy stocks ahead of stepping down as CEO. He told investors that Berkshire will eventually find places to invest its cash, but that "it's very unlikely to happen tomorrow." However, he noted that it would likely find someplace to invest in the next five years. He has shrugged off the recent market downturn, saying it hasn't been a dramatic bear market.

Unless a great investment comes along in the next eight months, it looks like Abel will have a large cash hoard when he steps in as CEO. How he allocates that money will be interesting, but it likely will be different than if Buffett were CEO. After all, Buffett is a stock picker, and Abel is an operator.

Instead of investing in stocks, I would expect Abel to be on the lookout to buy entire businesses. I wouldn't be surprised if he sold some Berkshire businesses, as well. The conglomerate has nearly 200 disparate businesses, ranging from railroads to ice cream parlors. Buffett collected a lot of undervalued businesses with little to no synergies, while at MidAmerican Energy, Abel went out and made synergistic acquisitions that positioned the company to be one of the largest utility companies in the U.S.

This strategy shift would not be a bad thing, but it would certainly be much different than how Berkshire was run in the past.

Cash and the words "What's Next?"

Image source: Getty Images.

Is Berkshire stock a buy?

Buffett is also leaving Berkshire with a pretty high stock valuation. The stock currently has a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 1.7, which is one of the highest levels during the past decade. Buffett even stopped buying back Berkshire stock mid-year last year due to its high valuation.

BRK.B Price to Book Value Chart

BRK.B Price to Book Value data by YCharts.

When Buffett is no longer CEO, there's also a good chance that the Buffett premium in the stock will start to wane. In the past, Buffett would only buy back stock when it traded at a P/B below 1.2 times, so if the stock were to return to about this level, it could have some meaningful downside from current levels.

With Buffett appearing unlikely to use his cash stockpile anytime soon and a potential shift in its overall investment strategy (more toward buying operating businesses than stocks), my prediction is that this won't be the same Berkshire Hathaway stock in the years to come.

Should you invest $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway right now?

Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Berkshire Hathaway wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $623,103!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $717,471!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 909% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 162% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
77K Ethereum Moved to Derivatives—Is Another Price Crash Looming?Ethereum has mirrored Bitcoin’s recent recovery trend, posting a near 10% gain over the past week. The asset had previously experienced a sharp correction, but its latest rally saw prices climb
Author  NewsBTC
4 Month 17 Day Thu
Ethereum has mirrored Bitcoin’s recent recovery trend, posting a near 10% gain over the past week. The asset had previously experienced a sharp correction, but its latest rally saw prices climb
placeholder
Bitcoin Must Clear This Critical Cost Basis Level For Continued Upside, Analyst SaysIn a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake post, contributor Crazzyblockk highlighted key Bitcoin (BTC) cost basis zones that the leading cryptocurrency must clear – or avoid breaking below – to
Author  NewsBTC
4 Month 23 Day Wed
In a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake post, contributor Crazzyblockk highlighted key Bitcoin (BTC) cost basis zones that the leading cryptocurrency must clear – or avoid breaking below – to
placeholder
EUR/USD trades below 1.1250, eases due to ECB dovish signalsEUR/USD is retreating from gains posted in the previous session, trading near 1.1240 during Monday’s Asian session.
Author  FXStreet
5 Month 12 Day Mon
EUR/USD is retreating from gains posted in the previous session, trading near 1.1240 during Monday’s Asian session.
placeholder
BNB Price Finds Its Footing — Can Bulls Ignite the Next Leg Up?BNB price is consolidating above the $640 support zone. The price is now showing positive signs and might aim for more gains in the near term. BNB price is attempting to recover from the $640 support
Author  FXStreet
5 Month 16 Day Fri
BNB price is consolidating above the $640 support zone. The price is now showing positive signs and might aim for more gains in the near term. BNB price is attempting to recover from the $640 support
placeholder
Cardano (ADA) In Focus: Can It Break This Barrier and Reclaim Momentum?Cardano price started a fresh increase above the $0.7250 zone. ADA is now consolidating and facing hurdles near the $0.760 zone. ADA price started a decent increase above $0.7250 and $0.7320. The
Author  NewsBTC
5 Month 21 Day Wed
Cardano price started a fresh increase above the $0.7250 zone. ADA is now consolidating and facing hurdles near the $0.760 zone. ADA price started a decent increase above $0.7250 and $0.7320. The
goTop
quote