New York, Feb 11, 2026, 10:27 EST — Regular session.
- Berkshire’s Class B shares hovered near $500 in the morning, barely budging.
- UBS sees Berkshire as retaining its defensive qualities after Buffett, though it doesn’t anticipate much in the way of buybacks with shares trading at these levels.
- Investors want sharper guidance on capital deployment from CEO Greg Abel.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares held close to the $500 mark on Wednesday, even as the wider U.S. market slipped. UBS called the conglomerate a defensive pick, though the firm also cast doubt on how much room was left for new share buybacks.
This shift lands Berkshire in its initial full run with Greg Abel at the helm as CEO. Investors are now left weighing what, if anything, could shift in capital allocation once Warren Buffett steps back from daily oversight.
Buybacks are the fast route—a company snapping up its own shares. But everything rides on the price. If the stock hovers near what analysts describe as “intrinsic value,” that window to act can vanish in a hurry.
Berkshire’s Class B shares edged down 0.1% to $500.01. Class A shares were last seen changing hands at $753,540. The S&P 500 ETF slipped 0.2%, with the Nasdaq-100 tracker QQQ off by about 0.1% early on.
UBS, in a note Tuesday from analysts led by Brian Meredith, pointed out that Berkshire’s cash and equivalents hit $378 billion—roughly 35% of the firm’s market cap. Shares, they calculated, sit about 1% below intrinsic value. Historically, that slim discount hasn’t spurred sizable buybacks, the team wrote. But with so much cash on hand, a significant deal remains possible. UBS reiterated its Buy call and $508.12 target.
Abel stepped into the CEO role at the beginning of 2026, ending Buffett’s sixty-year tenure as chief executive—though Buffett remains chairman. There’s speculation among some investors about a firmer approach toward the businesses. “Greg Abel may be more hands-on than Warren Buffett,” said CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert. Reuters
UBS highlighted operating levers like some growth at BNSF, a better setup at GEICO, and improvements at Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Still, it cut out-year estimates for GEICO, blaming what it called competitive pressure.
Still, calling it defensive isn’t always a plus. Should GEICO’s price war continue, or Berkshire fail to land a deal big enough to matter, the shares risk resembling a cash-stuffed index tracker—leaving investors impatient for something to happen.
Traders have their eyes peeled for new details—buybacks, major deals, anything signaling a different approach to how Berkshire puts its cash to work. A spike in market volatility could hand the company better prices to jump in.
The next date circled for Berkshire: the 2026 shareholder meeting, set for May 2. That’s when Abel steps into the spotlight, expected to lay out strategy and capital plans.
