Greg Abel assumed the role of CEO at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) at the beginning of 2026, bringing with him one significant challenge: managing the conglomerate’s massive equity portfolio.
Unlike his predecessor, Abel lacks an extensive background in capital allocation. Instead, he is recognized as a highly capable operations manager, making him exceptionally well-suited to oversee Berkshire’s numerous wholly-owned businesses.
However, with an equity portfolio valued at approximately $360 billion and substantial reserves of cash and Treasuries, the liquid portion of the portfolio represents a far greater share of Berkshire’s overall value than its operational businesses. Consequently, investors have closely monitored Abel’s portfolio decisions.
Over the past quarter, Abel executed significant transactions, including a roughly $4.5 billion purchase of a single stock. Furthermore, recent quarterly filings indicate he is acquiring billions more in the current quarter.
Abel Breaks Two Longstanding Streaks at Berkshire Hathaway
As Warren Buffett concluded his tenure as CEO, he established two notable streaks regarding Berkshire’s capital allocation.
The first streak involved being a net seller of equities for 13 consecutive quarters. Abel initially continued this trend in his first quarter, though the $9.7 billion acquisition of OxyChem could technically be counted as a stock purchase. Across the 14-quarter span, total net stock sales reached $194.8 billion.
Abel broke that streak last quarter. He purchased $23.5 billion worth of equities while selling only $3.7 billion. By far, the largest acquisition was Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
Buffett initiated the Alphabet position in the third quarter of 2025 and endorsed Abel’s decision to make it one of Berkshire’s largest holdings. This includes a $10 billion private placement Abel participated in during June, alongside public market purchases.
Alphabet now ranks as Berkshire’s third-largest position. Abel may be acquiring additional shares while the stock trades below the level of his private placement, though public disclosures will be required to confirm this.
Another stock Abel purchased in the second quarter is known to have seen increased buying since the end of June. This relates to the second major streak Buffett started: after repurchasing Berkshire shares for 24 consecutive quarters, Buffett ceased buybacks in the third quarter of 2024, sparking a streak of six straight quarters without a repurchase.
Abel ended that streak in his first quarter as CEO with a few hundred million in buybacks. He significantly accelerated this activity last quarter, with repurchases totaling $4.5 billion. He is not finished yet.
Berkshire’s latest quarterly report reveals that the number of outstanding shares decreased by approximately 0.32% between the end of June and the end of July. With a market capitalization exceeding $1.05 trillion, Abel spent over $3.3 billion purchasing additional Berkshire shares in July alone, and further acquisitions may follow.
Should Investors Follow Abel’s Lead?
Warren Buffett has historically advised Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to purchase stock whenever management engages in buybacks. This serves as a straightforward and reliable indicator for investors, rooted in Buffett’s strict stance on share repurchases. He repeatedly emphasized that all buybacks must be price-dependent, occurring only when the stock trades below its intrinsic value.
The board updated its repurchase authorization to reflect this philosophy in 2018, and the policy remains in effect today. Abel is permitted to repurchase shares only when he and Buffett determine that the price falls below a conservatively calculated intrinsic value. Therefore, investors can reasonably assume management viewed the stock as undervalued in July. Unfortunately, the stock has traded higher in August and early September.
Despite this, the stock appears fairly valued. Its price-to-book ratio sits around 1.45, which may be slightly elevated given that we are just weeks away from the end of the third quarter. Historically, this remains a reasonable valuation for the stock.
Moreover, Berkshire stock has largely traded sideways in 2026, even as the broader market has gravitated toward insurance and railroad stocks—two of Berkshire’s largest operations—and its marketable equity portfolio has appreciated. This occurred despite strong operating results in insurance underwriting and improved railroad profitability during the first half of the year. The stock’s performance likely reflects investor skepticism regarding Abel’s abilities as an asset allocator.
While investors should not anticipate the extraordinary equity returns Buffett generated over his lifetime, Abel seems capable of deploying capital strategically into new equity investments and returning capital to shareholders. Once the market adjusts to this leadership transition, the stock should be positioned to rise.
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