Greg Abel rules out Berkshire break-up, stresses continuity with Buffett's legacy at annual meeting

In this article BRK.B BRK.B Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT (This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) It wasn't his show but there was still plenty of Buffett New CEO Greg Abel did most of the talking at his first Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, but Warren Buffett was still a major presence as chairman of the board, even as he sat on the arena floor with his fellow directors. Warren Buffett speaks during the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, NE on May 2, 2026. CNBC Six minutes after the meeting began, a Buffett "jersey" with a large 60, reflecting his 60 years as Berkshire CEO, was raised to the rafters of the CHI Health Center arena. That was followed by a three-minute video produced by Berkshire showing videos and photos from those six decades. Buffett then spoke from his seat on the floor saying, "This is not my show today, but there are two anniversaries that we are kind of celebrating today." It's been about one year since the board approved Abel as CEO in the wake of Buffett's surprise announcement that he would be stepping down, and "you couldn't have made a better decision." "That's been a hundred percent successful. Greg is doing everything I did and then some, and he's doing it better in all cases. He's the right person." It's also been roughly 10 years since Berkshire bought $35 billion of Apple shares. Buffett said that's turned into roughly $185 billion, "and I didn't have to do a damned thing." He praised outgoing CEO Tim Cook for making that investment so successful. The first Q&A session began with a "deepfake" video version of "Warren from Ohama" asking Abel why Berkshire shareholders should hold on to their stock for the long term. In his reply, Abel highlighted the company's now almost $400 billion in cash, saying it "creates a unique opportunity" for inve...