10/17/2026
WARREN BUFFETT WATCH
Berkshire shares rally to highest level since Buffett revealed he would step down as CEOBerkshire Hathaway shares closed today at their highest level since Warren Buffett told shareholders at the May 2025 annual meeting he planned to step down as CEO at the end of that year.
The day before that Saturday surprise, both the Class A and Class B shares had closed at all-time highs.
Over the next three months, they lost more than 14% of their value as investors worried a Buffett premium was dissolving.
Its been more than a year since their post-meeting low in August of 2025, and the recovery has not been a straight line, but today, BRK.A closed at $798,000, just 1.4% below its all-time closing high of $809,350.
The B shares ended today at $532.02, also 1.4% under its all-time closing high of $539.80.
A loss yesterday broke a 10-session winning streak that added 5% to Berkshires stock prices but they rebounded with gains of more than 1% today.
CNBC Pro thinks investors may be happy Berkshire is spending some of its big cash pile under CEO Greg Abel, with $4.5 billion of buybacks in Q2, investments in Alphabet, Taylor Morrison Home, Lennar, (although there havent been any buys of that stock since October 2), and now, Bending Spoons. (More on that below).
It also notes Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields believes higher short-term interest rates are helping to lift the shares.
Berkshire still has roughly $360 billion in cash, a good symbol of continued patience under the new CEO, and those higher rates mean they’ll be making more money on that money.
In addition, its insurance operations have benefited from a quiet hurricane season so far.Higher oil prices are good for its $19 billion stake in Chevron, which closed today at an all-time high after gaining almost 36% since the start of July. Berkshires energy-related subsidiaries are also getting a tailwind.
And recently, Berkshire may be getting a boost as investors shift away from high-flying AI and tech stocks and turn to old economy names.
For example, Coca-Cola, a long-time Buffett favorite and now a $37.6 billion holding, also closed today at an all-time high, perhaps with some extra help from KFCs switch from Pepsi to Coke. Its up 34% year-to-date.Berkshires position has gained $2.4 billion since last Friday, overtaking Alphabet to become the third largest stake in its portfolio.
Berkshires B shares have cut their June 1 deficit of 17.5 percentage points versus the Samp;P 500 by almost two-thirds.They are now 6.0 percentage points behind the benchmark for the year.
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