Greg Abel speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2025.
CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway‘s Greg Abel used his first annual shareholder letter as chief executive to reassure investors that the conglomerate’s culture of financial conservatism and disciplined investing established under Warren Buffett will continue “into perpetuity.”
“I am honored by our Board’s decision to appoint me CEO of Berkshire and humbled to succeed Warren as I write my first annual letter to you,” Abel wrote in the missive to begin the company’s annual report released Saturday along with Berkshire’s quarterly earnings. “Warren is obviously a very hard act to follow.”
Abel, 63, signaled continuity rather than change as he takes the reins from the 95-year-old Buffett, who stepped down as CEO at the start of 2026 and remains chairman. The new CEO laid out a clear framework of foundational values for how he intends to keep running the conglomerate: to preserve its financial strength and maintain strict capital discipline.
“We maintain a fortress-like balance sheet, ensuring Berkshire’s foundation is never compromised,” he wrote. “We preserve this financial strength by using debt sparingly and prudently. Our substantial liquidity enables us to meet our obligations even under the most adverse conditions and to respond swiftly when opportunities arise.”
Other values he highlighted included a decentralized management model and “reputation for integrity.”
Berkshire’s cash pile stood at $373.3 billion at the end of 2025. Abel described the mountain of cash as strategic dry powder, which allows the company to act decisively when opportunities surface without jeopardizing resilience. Abel also used the letter to push back on any notion that the sizable cash position signified that Berkshire was retreating from investing.
But Abel noted he will continue Berkshire’s long-standing resistance to paying a dividend.
“Our approach to cash dividends continues to be that Berkshire will not pay dividends so long as more than one dollar of market value for shareholders is reasonably likely to be created by each dollar of retained earnings,” Abel wrote, adding that the board reviews the policy annually.
Overseeing stock portfolio
Abel emphasized that Berkshire applies the same disciplined framework whether it is acquiring an entire business, buying shares of a public company or repurchasing its own stock.
“We will assess value carefully, act patiently, and hold for the long term — preferably forever,” he wrote.
He added that Berkshire’s equity portfolio will remains concentrated in a small group of American companies, including Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola and Moody’s. Abel said the concentrated approach will continue, with limited trading activity, though Berkshire would “significantly adjust” a position if long-term economic prospects change.
Abel also settled a key question hanging over the leadership transition: he will directly oversee the equity portfolio. Ted Weschler will continue to manage about 6% of the portfolio, including investments previously overseen by Todd Combs, an investment manager and Geico CEO who left for JPMorgan recently.
“At Berkshire, equity investments are fundamental to our capital allocation activities; responsibility ultimately resides with me as CEO,” Abel wrote.
Long-term commitment
Abel has been known internally as a hands-on operator with a deep bench of subsidiary CEOs reporting to him. The Canadian executive, born in Edmonton, Alberta, has a 25-year tenure at Berkshire under his belt. Abel joined Berkshire in 2000 when the conglomerate bought MidAmerican Energy, where he eventually became the CEO in 2008. Prior to that, Abel worked at CalEnergy where he transformed the small geothermal firm into a diversified energy business.
He underscored that he views the role as a long-term commitment as he intends to steward Berkshire for decades.
“Our owners’ time horizon extends beyond the tenure of any individual CEO,” he wrote. “I will not be your CEO for the next 60 years as simple arithmetic makes that – shall we say – an ambitious plan. However, 20 years from now, when I will have just a fraction of the tenure that Warren had, my intention is that you – or your descendants – will be proud that your company is even stronger.”
