Renowned for their wit, personal anecdotes and philosophical asides, Warren Buffett’s shareholder letters have been a must-read for investors for decades. Greg Abel, his successor, wisely did not try to replicate that folksy tone in his first letter as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO. Instead, he opted for a more direct approach—one of the few early differences between the two leaders. On substance, Abel reassured investors that Berkshire’s culture and values will remain intact.
In his inaugural shareholder letter, Abel first praised Buffett as “arguably the greatest investor of all time” and “obviously a very hard act to follow.” Buffett, who recently ended his tenure as CEO after 60 years at the helm, will remain as the firm’s chairman and will continue to be a presence in its Omaha office five days a week.
Abel, 63, had long been seen as Buffett’s heir apparent. The Canadian-born executive joined CalEnergy in 1992, a geothermal company that later became MidAmerican Energy Holdings and was ultimately acquired by Berkshire. As he got to know Buffett and his late partner Charlie Munger, Abel said he grew to admire their partnership. “I admired how they worked together to build an enterprise that reflected their beliefs about business and life today,” said Abel, who most recently served as Berkshire’s vice chairman of non-insurance operations.
Abel’s first letter arrived alongside a modest downturn in Berkshire’s results, driven largely by weakness in its insurance business. Net income for the final three months of 2025 fell 25 percent year-over-year to $19.2 billion, while operating earnings declined 30 percent to $10.2 billion.
Sticking to the status quo
Shortly after taking the helm, Abel sent a letter to employees pledging that Berkshire’s “culture and values remain unchanged and will continue into perpetuity.” He committed to preserving the company’s decentralized structure, limiting bureaucracy, aligning words with actions and judging performance by long-term competitiveness rather than short-term results.
He also emphasized the importance of safeguarding Berkshire’s $370 billion cash and U.S. Treasury holdings. “While some of this capital is required to support our insurance operations and protect Berkshire against extreme scenarios, it also constitutes our dry powder,” said the new CEO, who called the balance sheet “a strategic asset to be deployed at the right time.”
Abel confirmed that he will oversee Berkshire’s equity portfolio, whose largest positions include Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Moody’s. Though he did not directly address any potential sale of Berkshire’s 27.5 percent stake in Kraft Heinz, he echoed Buffett’s criticism of the company’s performance. “Our investment in Kraft Heinz has been disappointing,” said Abel, adding that Berkshire’s “return has been well short of adequate.”
He also acknowledged a basic reality: his tenure will not rival Buffett’s six-decade run. “I will not be your CEO for the next 60 years as simple arithmetic makes that—shall we say—an ambitious plan,” said Abel. His leadership structure will be different as well. He signaled that other executives will take on prominent roles, singling out Ajit Jain, vice chairman for insurance operations, for praise.
That collaborative approach will be on display at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting in May, long presided over by Buffett. Instead of fielding questions alone, Abel said the program will feature two Q&A sessions: one with Jain, and another with Katie Farmer, CEO of BNSF Railway, and Adam Johnson, president of Berkshire’s consumer products, services and retailing group.
