On January 1, 2026, Warren Buffett officially stepped down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares, ending a 60-year run at the helm. At 95 years old, Buffett retains his role as chairman of the board and will continue to attend daily meetings in Omaha. His departure as CEO marks the first leadership change in six decades, with Greg Abel, vice chairman of non-insurance operations since 2018, now assuming full decision-making authority over the company’s portfolio of more than 400,000 employees and its diverse holdings across insurance, utilities, manufacturing and retailing.

At year-end 2025, Berkshire’s cash, cash equivalents and Treasury bills totaled $381.7 billion, up 10.9% from mid-year. This unprecedented liquidity positions Abel to deploy capital on a massive scale, whether through acquisitions, share repurchases or equity investments. Investors are watching for Abel’s first major allocation decision—one involving tens of billions of dollars—to gauge whether he will mirror Buffett’s disciplined, patient approach or pursue more aggressive growth opportunities.

On Abel’s inaugural trading day as CEO, Class A shares traded down 1.4% in morning sessions before paring losses slightly to close 1.2% lower, compared with a 0.2% gain in the benchmark index. Year-to-date through that session, the S&P 500 outperformed BRK-A by 1.62 percentage points when including dividends. The initial underperformance reflects investor uncertainty about leadership transition, even as Abel has received Buffett’s public endorsement as a “huge endorsement” for managing the conglomerate’s vast resources.