Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) hit an all-time high on Wednesday, which may come as a surprise to those expecting lower returns after Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO and chairman of the conglomerate.
What’s Leading the Gains?
Berkshire Hathaway trailed the S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), in 2025, closing out Buffett’s final year leading the company as CEO with a decline relative to the broader market.
There could be multiple reasons why investors are warming up to the Berkshire stock in a post-Buffett scenario.
The stock sold off earlier this year on his CEO exit and again on news that he was stepping down as chairman. Those declines came with the underlying businesses and investments still performing solidly.
The conglomerate’s second-quarter net earnings were $25.67 billion, more than double the $12.37 billion posted in the year-earlier period. Operating earnings, which include the underlying businesses, were up 16% year-over-year in the same quarter.
Along with the business strength, Berkshire Hathaway also bought back $4.5 billion of its own shares in the second quarter, a sign that the stock could be undervalued. The company also has a large cash balance, which could be put to work for more buybacks, acquisitions or to buy more stocks for the investment portfolio.
The firm’s investment portfolio could also be fueling investor enthusiasm, with its holdings offering a potential source of untapped value.
Here are the top 10 holdings as of the end of the second quarter and their year-to-date returns:
- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL): +26.9%
- American Express (NYSE:AXP): -13.2%
- Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO): +32.6%
- Alphabet Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL): +6.2%
- Bank of America (NYSE:BAC): -9.2%
- Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX): +45.5%
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY): +48.0%
- Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB): +13.7%
- Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO): -3.6%
- Alphabet Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG): +5.0%
Of the 10 positions, three are down and seven are up. Of the ones that are up, five are up double-digit percentages. Of the top 10 positions, the average return is a gain of 15.2% year-to-date.
That beats the current 13.1% year-to-date gain for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, meaning the top 10 stocks in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio are outperforming the S&P 500 in 2026.
Changing of the Guard
With the change of CEO comes a learning curve and some uncertainties from long-time investors who were in Berkshire Hathaway due to Buffett.
New CEO Greg Abel has already begun reshaping Berkshire’s portfolio, with its first-quarter 13F filing showing the number of stock holdings fell from 42 to 29.
This included cutting long-time holdings like Visa and Mastercard and also exiting newer positions in UnitedHealth and Constellation Brands.
Not all of Abel’s stock picks will pay off, but his early portfolio changes and gains in retained holdings are rewarding investors who stayed the course.
Next up will be beating the S&P 500, which Buffett did in 13 of his last 25 years at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway and even more if you go back the decades before that.
Berkshire Hathaway stock is currently up 8.5% year-to-date, compared to the 13.1% gain for the SPY. Last year, the SPY outperformed Berkshire Hathaway with gains of 16.6% compared to 11.5%.
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