Subject: Re: Brk, Barron’s,
Berkshire’s New CEO Will Soon Debut Shareholder Letter
Investors are eagerly awaiting the first annual shareholder letter from new Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel outlining his vision for the conglomerate’s decisions in the post-Buffett era. It will be released Feb. 28, in conjunction with Berkshire’s fourth-quarter results and 2025 annual report.

Abel, who became CEO on Jan. 1, is keeping Chairman and former CEO Warren Buffett’s tradition of releasing quarterly earnings and the annual report on a Saturday morning, to give investors time to digest the information before trading starts on Monday.
Key issues include capital allocation, especially with Berkshire sitting on over $350 billion in cash and seeing limited investment opportunities. Abel may address whether Berkshire should be repurchasing stock—which it hasn’t done since May 2024—or pay a dividend, which Buffett opposed.
That cash pile continued to build last year, partly because Berkshire was a net seller of stocks for the first three quarters and partly because it has diversified earnings totaling about $45 billion after taxes annually. One notable acquisition last year was the $10 billion purchase of Occidental Petroleum’s chemicals business.
Some believe Berkshire investment manager Ted Weschler, a value-oriented investor who joined Berkshire in 2012, is playing a key role with the portfolio. But Berkshire hasn’t publicly made clear what he is doing, as far as Barron’s can determine.
What’s Next: Abel may discuss Berkshire’s focus and priorities in the coming years and how he plans to manage Berkshire’s investment portfolio. Investors are curious about whether Berkshire, which Barron’s named as a stock pick in July, can maintain its impressive performance without Buffett at the helm.

—Andrew Bary and Janet H. Cho