Who is now making the call on Berkshire Hathaway stock investments? 5-minute quick overview of the key points from the shareholder letter

Caixin March 1st (Editor: Shi Zhengcheng) As the world’s focus returns to the Middle East conflict, Berkshire Hathaway, the symbol of “value investing,” has quietly completed a generational transition: the 2025 annual report, representing Buffett’s final moments at the helm, has been released, and the person writing this year’s shareholder letter is now the new CEO, Greg Abel.

Certainly, the 60-something Abel cannot casually recount decades of investment anecdotes and life wisdom as Buffett does, but he conveys key messages with straightforward language: Berkshire’s values, operating methods, and investment philosophy will remain unchanged.

Respect and Legacy

In the opening of the 18-page shareholder letter, Abel praises Buffett as “arguably the greatest investor of all time” and “an outstanding CEO,” emphasizing Buffett and Munger’s remarkable achievements in building “a durable Berkshire.”

Abel also dedicates considerable space in the letter to describing “Berkshire’s culture and values,” including maintaining financial strength, adhering to strict capital discipline, a decentralized management model, and a strong emphasis on reputation.

Abel specifically stresses that Berkshire’s culture and values “have never changed and will continue forever.”

Berkshire is a unique enterprise group designed to allocate capital rationally and efficiently. Insurance is our core, and we also hold significant investments in many other industries. Our operating approach supports a long-term goal: to be an excellent steward of shareholder capital and maximize Berkshire’s intrinsic value per share over the long run.

We are committed to strengthening the great foundation established by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, and through relentless pursuit of excellence, ensuring its long-term inheritance.

— Abel, “Berkshire 2025 Annual Report Shareholder Letter”

Abel also mentions in the letter: “Charlie’s words on May 1, 2021, that ‘Greg will maintain this culture,’ will always resonate in my heart.”

He further states that after stepping down as CEO, Buffett, who retains the chairman title, still works “five days a week” in the office, providing advice to management on business operations and capital allocation (including stock investments).

Investment Style Remains Consistent

By the end of 2025, Berkshire’s cash reserves reached $373.3 billion. Like Buffett and Munger, Abel describes this as strategic “dry powder,” but only to be deployed decisively when excellent opportunities arise. He also refutes the idea that holding cash indicates retreat or reduced investment.

Like Buffett, Abel also opposes the idea of paying dividends.

He writes: “As long as each dollar of retained earnings can create more than a dollar of market value for shareholders, Berkshire will not pay dividends.”

More importantly, Abel responds to the most pressing question among global investors: who now makes the decisions on Berkshire’s equity investments.

Abel states that he will directly oversee the stock investment portfolio. Ted Weschler will continue managing about 6% of the investments, including part of what his former partner Todd Combs managed before, who recently joined JPMorgan Chase.

At Berkshire, stock investments are at the core of our capital allocation activities; ultimate responsibility lies with me as CEO. Ted Weschler manages about 6% of our investments, including part of the portfolio previously overseen by Todd Combs. Beyond direct management, Ted’s influence extends to broader aspects—he continues to evaluate major investment opportunities, provides valuable insights into our business, and supports Berkshire’s development in various ways.

— Abel, “Berkshire 2025 Annual Report Shareholder Letter”

Abel also states that Berkshire will stick to its current approach of stock investing, mainly betting on a few companies.

As of Q4 2025, Berkshire’s top four U.S. stock holdings (Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s), along with investments in Japan’s five major trading houses, account for two-thirds of the stock portfolio. Based on original invested capital, these investments yielded a dividend rate of 10% last year.

Abel also mentions that Berkshire will maintain its current method of information disclosure, avoiding quarterly earnings calls like other companies. He writes: “We focus on quality, not frequency.”

Changes at the Shareholders’ Meeting

In the letter, Abel mentions that at this year’s annual shareholders’ meeting on May 2, other Berkshire executives will also answer questions.

In the morning session, Abel and Agit, who oversees insurance, will appear; in the afternoon, Abel will be joined by Kathryn Farmer, CEO of BNSF Railway, and Adam Johnson, President of Consumer Products, Services, and Retail.

Notably, this year’s shareholder meeting schedule has changed. Unlike last year (which started at 8 a.m. Omaha time and quickly moved to Buffett’s Q&A), this year’s meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m., with about an hour of “business updates,” followed by over an hour of Q&A. The afternoon Q&A session will also be shortened from about two hours to 1 hour and 15 minutes.