Berkshire Hathaway: Warren Buffett takes another step back; Howard Buffett elected Chairman
We don’t expect much to change as Warren Buffett moves into his new role as chairman emeritus.
Mentioned: Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B)
Key Morningstar metrics for Berkshire Hathaway
- Fair Value Estimate: $510
- Morningstar Rating: ★★★
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Morningstar Uncertainty Rating: Low
Berkshire Hathaway stock update
Warren Buffett, chair and former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B, announced Sept. 18, 2026, that he would step back from a more active role in the firm, and that his son, Howard Buffett, would be named the new chair of the company’s board of directors.
Why it matters: Since retiring as CEO at the end of 2025, Buffett has remained active in Berkshire’s investments, as well as being a sounding board for his successor, Greg Abel. We don’t expect much to change as Buffett moves into his new role as chairman emeritus while continuing to serve as a board director.
- In a side letter to shareholders, Buffett noted that he recently celebrated his 96th birthday and that while “Father Time has been generous with me,” he always wins. Buffett said he believes the company is in excellent hands with Abel and looks forward to remaining a shareholder alongside the rest of Berkshire’s investors.
- Buffett also noted that his expectations for Abel have been high from the start, but that he has exceeded those expectations, making most of the decisions that matter for some time now. That said, we still feel Abel has focused more on highlighting what has made Berkshire successful and maintaining the status quo than on pushing forward with efforts to address the company’s deficiencies and improve returns—two things on which shareholders will measure him in the long run.
The bottom line: We could be wrong, and Abel could be doing many of the things we think he needs to do to succeed in his role over the long term. Increased investments in stocks and a return to acquisitions and share repurchases more recently are all moves in the right direction but have done little to restrain the firm’s growing cash balances.
- We are leaving our $765,000 ($510) per Class A (B) share fair value estimate for narrow-moat Berkshire Hathaway in place.
- We view the shares as fairly valued. That said, the lack of a major selloff is a net positive.
Bulls say
- Book value per share, which is a good proxy for measuring changes in Berkshire’s intrinsic value, increased at an estimated 18.1% CAGR during 1965-2025, compared with a 10.5% annualized return for the S&P 500 TR index.
- Berkshire’s stock performance has generally been solid, increasing at a 16.8% (14.3%) CAGR during 2021-25 (2016-25), compared with a 14.4% (14.8%) average annual return for the S&P 500 TR index.
- At the end of 2025, Berkshire had $176 billion in insurance float. The cost of the firm’s float has generally been negative during much of the past two decades.
Bears say
- Given its size, Berkshire’s biggest hurdle continues to be its ability to consistently find deals that not only add value but are large enough to be meaningful.
- Another big issue that has faced the firm has been the longevity of Buffett, especially following the death of longtime managing partner Munger in November 2023.
- Berkshire’s insurance operations face competitive and highly cyclical markets that occasionally produce large losses, and several of its noninsurance operations are economically sensitive and focused on US markets.
