NEW YORK, March 21, 2026, 13:37 EDT
Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares wrapped up Friday at $480.94, slipping only 0.1%. That was a far better showing than the S&P 500, which tumbled 1.51% to its lowest point in six months, with oil closing at heights not seen since July 2022.
Berkshire’s steadier trading backdrop is significant: this is the first real stress test for the company under CEO Greg Abel. Buybacks resumed March 4, after a nearly two-year hiatus, and a proxy showed more than $200 million already spent by then. Abel called the disclosure “important” in light of the leadership change—management signaling they view Berkshire shares as undervalued relative to intrinsic value, their own internal benchmark. Reuters
Berkshire on Friday updated its annual-meeting documents for the May 2 Omaha event. The latest plan has Abel and Vice Chairman Ajit Jain opening the Q&A, before Abel comes back with BNSF CEO Katie Farmer and NetJets chief Adam Johnson.
Investors now have their next milestone in sight. Berkshire wrapped up 2025 sitting on $373.3 billion in cash and equivalents. With insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing, and a broad portfolio of stocks, Abel has options on the table if market conditions remain choppy.
Oil-tied plays chipped in a bit. Occidental Petroleum picked up 1.9% Friday, Chevron edged 0.2% higher, and Berkshire, which revealed in February that it boosted its Chevron holdings in the fourth quarter, has held onto its sizable Occidental stake—despite taking a $4.5 billion writedown on that investment.
Analysts continue to frame the stock as both a transition narrative and a valuation question. CFRA’s Cathy Seifert thought Abel “hit the mark” in his first shareholder letter, pointing to continuity, while Morningstar’s Greggory Warren called Abel “an operations guy,” arguing that’s exactly what Berkshire needs right now. Reuters
When it comes to price, the picture isn’t as clear-cut. Morningstar held its $510 fair-value estimate on Berkshire’s Class B shares following the latest quarterly results, calling the stock fairly valued.
Still, there’s no denying the patches of weakness. Operating profit in the fourth quarter dropped 30% to $10.2 billion. Geico saw pretax underwriting profit cut almost in half. Energy operations at Berkshire posted a 5% decline. Greggory Warren pointed out BNSF is still lagging behind Union Pacific.
PacifiCorp remains a cloud over Berkshire. Earlier this month, S&P Global warned it could push the Berkshire-owned utility into junk territory as wildfire liabilities keep mounting. Abel, for his part, said Berkshire would accept responsibility if PacifiCorp was at fault, but wouldn’t back down from contesting claims linked to factors like lightning.
It’s still anyone’s guess if Friday’s quieter tone signals a real change in sentiment, and the picture probably stays blurry until May 2. That’s when Berkshire is expected to detail any first-quarter buybacks, and shareholders will finally get another glimpse of Abel’s approach to running things in public at the Omaha gathering.
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