PITTSBURGH, May 2, 2026, 15:05 (EDT)
- Berkshire Hathaway reported that as of March 31, the fair value of its Kraft Heinz stake lagged its carrying value by $1.4 billion. Still, the company didn’t recognize any fresh impairment charge.
- Kraft Heinz is set to release its first-quarter numbers on May 6, as the spotlight lands on demand trends, pricing and CEO Steve Cahillane’s turnaround efforts.
- KHC ended the session Friday at $22.49. Wall Street expects first-quarter earnings to land at 50 cents per share on $5.89 billion in revenue.
Kraft Heinz is once again under pressure from its top shareholder. Berkshire Hathaway noted that its Kraft Heinz holdings, as valued by the market, still lag well behind what’s recorded on Berkshire’s own books—this comes just four days ahead of the packaged-food company’s latest quarterly report.
Berkshire’s first-quarter filing shows its Kraft Heinz common stock carried a value $1.4 billion, or 15.7%, higher than fair value as of March 31. An impairment—a non-cash accounting write-down—can reduce earnings. Berkshire noted no charge was needed at quarter-end, but left the door open for that to shift.
Timing is key here. Kraft Heinz is pitching to investors that halting a breakup, cutting prices in certain categories, and amping up brand investment could turn around a business struggling with soft U.S. demand and years of market share erosion. The company’s first-quarter numbers drop before Wednesday’s opening bell, followed by an analyst Q&A at 9 a.m. EDT.
As of March 31, Berkshire held 27.5% of Kraft Heinz’s common stock. According to the filing, the stake carried a value of $8.69 billion, but the fair value—calculated from quoted market prices—came to $7.32 billion. Carrying value reflects the accounting number for the investment; fair value is what the market says it’s worth.
The overhang persists, even if it’s been around for a while. Back in January, Reuters noted that Kraft Heinz put out a prospectus supplement allowing for Berkshire to potentially unload 325.4 million shares—a move that brings back speculation about Berkshire’s exit from a stake dating to the 2015 Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz merger.
Kraft Heinz closed out Friday at $22.49, slipping 0.75%, MarketBeat data shows. With earnings on deck, the consensus is for 50 cents per share in profit on $5.89 billion revenue—a bar set low, but still tough to clear.
The last full report from Kraft Heinz didn’t exactly inspire confidence. Fourth-quarter net sales slid 3.4%, with organic net sales—excluding things like currency swings, acquisitions, and divestitures—down 4.2%. Looking ahead to 2026, the company projected organic net sales would dip another 1.5% to 3.5%, and put adjusted earnings somewhere between $1.98 and $2.10 per share.
Cahillane, installed as CEO in January, has painted the company’s recent stumble as something that can be corrected, not something baked into its structure. In February remarks, he described most of Kraft Heinz’s obstacles as “fixable and within our control” and laid out a $600 million plan to boost marketing, sales, R&D, product quality, and targeted pricing. Kraft Heinz News
That argument didn’t convince everyone. Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers told Reuters back in February that pausing the separation indicated “deeper problems than previously acknowledged.” Kraft Heinz, for its part, has been squeezed by both lower-priced store brands and a wave of healthier options. On top of that, PepsiCo responded to shopper resistance by lowering prices on some major snack products. Reuters
There’s a danger the added outlays hit before demand does. If consumers stay focused on cheaper options, Kraft Heinz may see its margins squeezed, without the sales lift it’s hoping for. A Berkshire exit could also cloud the mood. The 2026 forecast from the company itself? Lower organic sales and softer adjusted operating income baked in.
Berkshire’s disclosure leaves Kraft Heinz with a bit of a cushion for now. The conglomerate weighed factors like its willingness and capacity to keep holding the stake, how far and how long the fair-value drop persisted, and Kraft Heinz’s own operating performance before concluding that, as of March 31, there was no need for an impairment.
So this Wednesday’s report isn’t your average quarterly update. Investors want to see clear evidence that Kraft Heinz can stem its sales decline, protect its brands, and show results from that $600 million investment—before patience runs out at Berkshire, or on Wall Street.
