Omaha, April 28, 2026, 07:08 (CDT)
This week, Greg Abel steps up as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO for his first turn on the stage at the annual meeting, putting Buffett’s chosen successor face-to-face with shareholders pressing for details on cash holdings, buybacks, and the direction of a stock portfolio so often tied to Buffett’s name. The company’s posted schedule has Abel kicking things off with a business update on May 2. He’ll then field questions alongside insurance chief Ajit Jain, before BNSF’s Katie Farmer and NetJets’ Adam Johnson join in.
Timing is crucial here. Buffett remains chairman and will be present, yet Fortune said Tuesday he won’t be addressing the crowd this time—a break from tradition, as shareholders have long traveled to Omaha to watch him work through questions for hours. Now, Berkshire investors have an unobstructed view of Abel’s approach, without Buffett’s presence dominating.
Capital’s front and center here. Berkshire’s annual report disclosed zero share buybacks in 2025, while cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury bills stacked up to $369.0 billion across its insurance and other divisions at year-end. Buybacks still hinge on intrinsic value—management’s take on the company’s true worth—and Berkshire reiterated it won’t dip below $30 billion in combined cash and Treasury bill reserves.
Things shifted after the year wrapped up. Last month, Reuters reported that Berkshire was back in the buyback game for the first time since May 2024, shelling out over $200 million. Abel said announcing this was key “with the transition of leadership.” Compared to Berkshire’s huge cash reserves, the buyback sum was modest. Still, it put repurchases squarely on the agenda for Saturday. Reuters
Bank of America is the other one in question. According to a Motley Fool piece picked up by Yahoo Finance, all signs suggest Abel might be unloading what used to be Buffett’s No. 2 holding. Berkshire’s position has been slashed by around half since July 2024, and neither Buffett nor Abel included it in their list of long-term compounders. The article emphasized that speculation means little here—only Form 13F filings will confirm what’s really happening.
The filings lay out just how big the move has been so far. Berkshire’s most recent 13F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, showed nine separate Bank of America positions totaling 517,295,934 shares as of Dec. 31. Apple, American Express, and Coca-Cola were still among the firm’s top holdings disclosed. A 13F is a quarterly snapshot of U.S. stock holdings by major institutional investors, reported after each quarter.
Abel has pitched the cash pile as a sign of discipline, not indecision. Opening his first shareholder letter as CEO, he described Berkshire’s hefty balance sheet as a strategic asset, labelling the cash and Treasuries as “dry powder.” Still, he made it clear: Berkshire would rather buy productive businesses than sit on Treasuries. He also emphasized the group’s decentralized structure—subsidiaries with broad independence—as a core advantage, insisting “will not change.” Berkshire Hathaway
Investors outside of Berkshire are pressing for specifics, not just broad assurances. David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland who’s tracked Berkshire for years, told Business Insider he’d like Abel to tackle one question head-on: “What are his plans to invest $373 billion in cash?” Chris Ballard, managing director at Check Capital Management, put it more simply—he’s “very interested” in Abel’s views around Berkshire’s stock portfolio. Business Insider
Abel’s approach marks a shift in format, pulling operating chiefs into discussions and giving shareholders more direct exposure to the engines of Berkshire’s cash flow. That means closer access to businesses like BNSF—a railroad under the microscope as the market assesses the possible Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger—and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, where AI-driven data center demand is complicating planning. In his letter, Abel wrote that BHE would pursue expansion only where risks and rewards line up.
The handoff carries risk. Berkshire’s culture has long depended on a hard-to-replicate trio—capital discipline, blunt communication, and, crucially, Buffett’s trusted reputation. Abel may keep the first two, but with everyday shareholders drawn in by Buffett himself, some credibility could slip. “He’s got to run this thing,” CFRA Research’s Cathy Seifert told AP. AP News
Right now, it’s about the logistics. Will Abel step up repurchases? Is Bank of America still on the chopping block? Berkshire’s cash—will it go toward outright takeovers, more equities, or just sit in T-bills? Not every detail will be clear by Saturday afternoon. But investors should get a sense of which way Abel’s leaning on these points.
