Greg Abel speaks at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 3, 2025.
CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway announced Thursday that it has resumed stock buybacks for the first time since 2024, and separately announced that new CEO Greg Abel has personally purchased $15 million worth of stock, equal to his annual after-tax income.
Abel told CNBC he plans to continue using his paycheck to buy Berkshire stock every year.
The Omaha-based conglomerate said in a regulatory filing that it began repurchasing Class A and Class B shares on Wednesday. According to the company’s annual report released over the weekend, Berkshire’s policy is to buy back its own stock at any time if the chief executive, in consultation with the chairman of the board, Warren Buffett, determines the buyback price is less than Berkshire’s intrinsic value.
“I absolutely talked to Warren. So how I approached it, obviously looking at value, taking an intrinsic value perspective, consulting with Warren on value and timing,” Abel said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Mr. Abel said that normally the company would not reveal when it would begin its share buyback program. “We felt it was important to communicate this change in management to our shareholders, partners and owners,” he said.
Berkshire’s stock price has fallen 10% from its all-time high since May. Shares came under pressure earlier this week after the company announced a nearly 30% drop in fourth-quarter operating profit, largely due to a decline in its insurance business.
Berkshire’s last stock buyback was in the second quarter of 2024. Berkshire B shares rose 1% in early trading Thursday.
Abel’s personal purchase
In a separate filing, Mr. Abel disclosed that he personally purchased $15 million worth of shares in the conglomerate. The 62-year-old executive’s purchase comes just over two months into his tenure as the Omaha-based conglomerate’s executive.
The deal increases Buffett’s personal stake in Berkshire at a time when some investors are questioning whether he has the skin to match his successor. Mr. Buffett owns about 37.5% of Berkshire’s Class A stock and has no intention of selling the stock other than to donate it to charity. He previously said the conglomerate accounted for about 99.5% of his net worth.
“Absolute collaboration with shareholders, partners and owners is important,” Abel told CNBC. “I already own some stocks, but the goal was to continue to show alignment with them…As CEO, I obviously believe in Berkshire. With my transition from Warren, I inherited a company with an incredible foundation.”
Before the deal, Mr. Abel, a longtime Berkshire executive who previously oversaw the company’s non-insurance businesses, owned $164.4 million worth of Berkshire stock, according to FactSet.
The CEO said he intends to do this every year while at the helm of Berkshire, and Abel said he hopes it will be “20 years.”
Since taking office, Mr. Abel has emphasized the continuity of Mr. Buffett’s investment philosophy. He used his first annual shareholder letter over the weekend to reassure investors that the conglomerate’s culture of financial conservatism and disciplined investing will last “forever.”
