About 12% of Berkshire Hathaway's B shares have slid since Warren Buffett handed control to Greg Abel at the start of 2026. From Jan 1 through April 27, the shares trailed the S&P 500 by roughly 10 percentage points. Berkshire still holds a large cash balance and has been trimming big stakes such as Apple while Abel moves the firm into new deals. That shift pressures the stock now, but it also creates clearer capital choices and a steadier corporate profile. Investors are divided over whether Abel can rebuild the premium Berkshire once enjoyed under Buffett.

Berkshire Hathaway's market price has changed fast since the leadership handoff. Investors reacted strongly after Buffett stepped down and named Greg Abel CEO at the start of 2026. Retail holders showed their impatience. The B shares slid roughly 12% from the highs set just before Buffett's retirement announcement.

And the broader market moved the other way. The S&P 500 rose while Berkshire lagged. From January to April 27, Berkshire B shares trailed the S&P by about 10 percentage points. That gap widened debate about whether Abel can win back the premium investors once gave the company because of Buffett's reputation.

Numbers behind the sell-off

There are concrete reasons behind the weakening sentiment. Berkshire reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results in March. Operating earnings per share missed analysts' estimates by nearly 9 percent. That shortfall landed under Buffett's tenure. But it still matters to holders now, while the new leadership settles in.

Another big driver was portfolio trimming. Berkshire has been shrinking its Apple stake. From its peak, the position in Apple fell by more than 75 percent. Apple remains Berkshire's largest holding, but it's now closer to 19 percent of the portfolio and worth about $60 billion. Berkshire realized large gains on those sales.

The firm booked over $100 billion in profit on Apple stock sales, according to the firm's public disclosures and comments by senior figures tied to the decisions.

Those moves changed two big investor attractions. First, the size of the Apple stake no longer dominated the portfolio. Buffett said he wasn't comfortable with one holding being larger than the rest combined. Second, trimming created cash. That left Berkshire sitting on a large war chest while markets favored high-growth tech names Berkshire historically avoided.

What Abel has done so far

Greg Abel has made a few clear moves since taking the helm. He restarted share repurchases when stock trades below intrinsic value. He pushed Berkshire deeper into foreign insurance markets with a roughly 2.49 percent stake in Tokio Marine in Japan. The man also joined a U.S. Government-backed syndicate insuring ships through the Strait of Hormuz, an area seen as higher risk for shipping insurers.

Mastheads

Those steps signal a different posture. The Tokio Marine stake shows willingness to buy overseas financial assets. The ship-insurance deal shows appetite for underwriting risks insurers usually avoid. And the repurchase program gives the company a mechanism to use cash when management believes the shares are cheap.

All three moves are concrete. They also come while large chunks of cash sit on the balance sheet. That combination shapes how investors value the shares going forward. Markets tend to dislike big cash piles when growth names are rallying. But cash gives management optionality. It buys time to make large, disciplined acquisitions or to return capital when buybacks are priced attractively.

Why the drop can be healthy

The sell-off has two practical effects. It forces a re-pricing of the so-called Buffett premium. For years, investors paid extra for Berkshire because of Buffett's track record and visible stewardship. With him gone, that premium shrank quickly. The lower price reduces the pressure on new management to match an elevated valuation right away.

It also creates clearer decision rules for management. Buffett and his team had tolerated very large concentrated positions. Now the portfolio is more diversified. The Apple stake shrinking from a dominant position to under 20 percent makes the portfolio less dependent on one company. That's a change investors asked for once concentration risk became a concern.

In practical terms, a lower share price can make buybacks more powerful. When management thinks shares trade below intrinsic value, repurchases boost per-share metrics. Abel has resumed repurchases under that standard. Those buys will lift book value per share if the purchases truly are at discounts to intrinsic worth.

Finally, heavy profit-taking on Apple freed up capital. Berkshire realized over $100 billion on Apple sales. That money doesn't vanish. It sits as cash until management deploys it. A larger cash position makes big acquisitions possible without leverage. It also gives Abel room to act on insurance underwriting opportunities where price and risk line up.

Who pays and who benefits

Short-term shareholders feel pain. Traders and momentum funds that chased growth stocks have little reason to own Berkshire now. Long-term holders who bought for Buffett's track record may re-evaluate. Some have already left. Online investor forums showed frustration in the weeks after the handoff.

Longer-term holders could benefit if Abel uses the cash wisely. If management buys back stock only when shares are cheap, or if it makes disciplined acquisitions, per-share value has room to grow. The company no longer has a single stock dominating its returns. That reduces single-company risk for shareholders who prefer diversified exposure to insurance and industrial businesses.

Perception matters as much as numbers. Abel is about 100 days into the job. He faces his first annual meeting as CEO in Omaha this weekend. That meeting will be a test. Investors will watch for how he explains strategy and how he plans to deploy cash and buybacks.

Investor sentiment can turn on a single, clear signal at such a meeting. A confident, specific plan might narrow the gap with the S&P. Or the stock could stay under pressure if holders want faster change. Either way, the company now has clear levers to use. Cash, repurchases, and an appetite for new insurance plays are the tools management has put on the table.

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Greg Abel will address shareholders at the Omaha annual meeting Saturday.

This article was created with AI assistance.