Berkshire shares buck market sell-off, rally to highest since Buffett said he would step down as CEO — SkimNews
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- Berkshire Hathaway shares (BRK.A at $798,000, BRK.B at $532.02) closed Friday within 1.4% of all-time highs, their strongest level since Buffett's May 2025 CEO exit announcement at the annual meeting.
- Greg Abel has deployed capital with $4.5 billion in Q2 buybacks plus investments in Bending Spoons, Alphabet, and homebuilders, while Berkshire's $360 billion cash pile earns more from elevated short-term rates.
- Coca-Cola, a $37.6 billion Berkshire holding, hit an all-time high Friday — gaining $2.4 billion in one week to overtake Alphabet as Berkshire's third-largest portfolio position.
- Chevron shares closed at an all-time high after gaining nearly 36% since early July, boosting Berkshire's $19 billion energy stake as higher oil prices lift the broader segment.
- Bending Spoons received an additional $330 million from Berkshire at $33 per share in a private placement, sending shares up 41% to $53.46 Wednesday before Friday's tech sell-off pulled them back to $47.07.
- A Bending Spoons release revealed Berkshire also invested $600 million at the company's July IPO at $29 per share, making its total ~30.7 million shares worth over $1.4 billion — a 55.3% paper gain on $930 million invested.
- The S&P 500 gap is closing fast: Berkshire's B shares have cut their June 1 deficit of 17.5 percentage points versus the benchmark by nearly two-thirds, now trailing by 6.0 points YTD.
Why it matters: Berkshire's rebound to within 1.4% of its all-time high signals renewed confidence in Greg Abel's capital deployment — $4.5B in Q2 buybacks, a 55.3% paper gain on the $930M Bending Spoons bet, and rotation from AI to 'old economy' names. The stock's June deficit of 17.5 percentage points vs the S&P 500 has narrowed to 6.0.
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