OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway resumed buying back its own shares Wednesday for the first time since May 2024, filing formal notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission as new CEO Greg Abel used a CNBC appearance to signal continuity with Warren Buffett’s long-established investment approach. Abel, who took over from Buffett in January, also disclosed that he spent his entire $15.3 million take-home pay for 2026 purchasing Berkshire stock, and said he plans to continue doing so for as long as he remains chief executive.
The twin moves — the first Berkshire share repurchase in nearly two years and Abel’s personal buying — came as investors looked for evidence that the company’s investment discipline would hold through its first leadership transition in six decades. Abel also told CNBC that Berkshire has no immediate plans to sell its 325 million shares of Kraft Heinz after the packaged food company’s new chief executive shelved a plan to split the business in two.
Buybacks resume after nearly two years
Abel told CNBC that Berkshire’s approach to repurchases has not changed: the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate will continue to use a portion of its $373.3 billion in cash to buy back shares whenever he and Buffett conclude the stock is worth more than what it is selling for. Berkshire’s Class A shares gained more than 2% Thursday, closing at $745,451.75 apiece.
“As CEO, I absolutely obviously believe in Berkshire with — with the transition from Warren,” Abel said. “And I inherited a company that has an incredible foundation. I believe in its — you know, future, the opportunities that exist there.”
Abel’s personal share purchases, funded by his full annual take-home pay, are designed to keep his financial interests aligned with those of Berkshire’s other shareholders. He said he intends to maintain the practice indefinitely.
Kraft Heinz stake stays put for now
Berkshire became Kraft Heinz’s largest shareholder through the 2015 merger of Kraft and Heinz, which Buffett and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital orchestrated because they already owned Heinz and believed in the strength of its brands. In the years that followed, Buffett acknowledged that Berkshire likely overpaid and that Kraft’s brands had weaker competitive positions than he had initially judged. Berkshire took a $3.76 billion write-down on its Kraft Heinz stake last summer.
When Kraft Heinz announced plans last fall to split into two separate companies, both Abel and Buffett expressed concerns about the costs involved and the condition of some of the brands. After Kraft Heinz’s incoming CEO, Steve Cahillane, announced a pause on that plan, Abel said the decision was the right call.
“For Steve to come in and say we’re pausing it, there’s opportunities within Kraft Heinz to fix things and get the business back on track and then he’ll evaluate things. We thought that was absolutely the right approach,” Abel said.
Abel said he currently has no immediate plans to sell Berkshire’s Kraft Heinz position.
Buffett remains active as chairman
Abel’s CNBC appearance came less than a week after he released his first annual letter to shareholders, in which he promised not to make significant changes to the approach Buffett used to run Berkshire over the past six decades. Abel said he and Buffett speak regularly, and that Buffett continues to come into the office every day to look for new investments while serving as chairman of the board.
Berkshire will also continue to forgo a dividend. Abel said he and Buffett believe retaining cash and redeploying it through reinvestment or buybacks produces better returns for shareholders than distributing it directly.
Berkshire owns dozens of companies across insurance, transportation, energy, and consumer brands, including major insurer Geico, the BNSF railroad, Dairy Queen, and fractional private jet company NetJets.