With the deadline for fourth-quarter 2025 13-F filings set for February 14, investors are bracing for a revelation that Warren Buffett may have made one last major allocation before stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares. Analysts predict that the filings will disclose a substantial purchase of silver, marking what could be Buffett’s third and final foray into the precious metal. Should this materialize, it would underscore Buffett’s willingness to deploy capital opportunistically in his closing days at the helm.

Buffett’s previous large-scale silver acquisition occurred in the late 1990s, when Berkshire Hathaway invested $910 million in the metal. He later realized a profit of $97 million after liquidating 111 million ounces. That transaction was driven by a quantified supply–demand gap: annual industrial and jewelry demand of approximately 800 million ounces versus combined available supply of around 650 million ounces. The trade remains one of the few instances in which Buffett bought an asset lacking yield based purely on arithmetic valuation.

Forecasts for 2025 show global silver production at 835 million ounces against an estimated total demand of 1.15 billion ounces, extending a four-year trend of annual deficits between 79 million and 249 million ounces. Production growth of less than 2% year-over-year contrasts sharply with silver’s 144% price appreciation in 2025. These data points mirror the structural imbalance Buffett highlighted decades ago, suggesting that above-ground inventories could be drawn down further and price upside remains probable if consumption continues to outpace mining output.

At the end of 2025, Berkshire Hathaway’s cash reserves reached an all-time high of $381.7 billion. Despite this unprecedented liquidity, Buffett noted a dearth of suitably priced opportunities large enough to move the needle. Since 2023, he has been a net seller of equities and completed a $9.7 billion acquisition of Occidental Petroleum’s chemicals unit in October 2025, the largest buy since the $11.6 billion purchase of Alleghany in 2022. As he transitions to chairman, investors will watch whether his successor can translate the firm’s liquidity into value-accretive investments on the scale Buffett deemed necessary.