Buffett Steps Down, Abel Takes Charge at Berkshire Hathaway
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 24 2026
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Leadership Transition: Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after over 60 years, with Greg Abel taking over the reins at the end of 2025, ensuring continuity in the company's investment strategy while Buffett remains involved in providing advice, highlighting stability in governance.
- Portfolio Adjustments: The recent 13F filing revealed that Abel closed positions in 16 stocks, including Visa, Mastercard, and Amazon, indicating a significant shift in investment strategy, likely due to Buffett delegating investment responsibilities to Abel.
- Increased Google Holdings: In Q1, Abel significantly increased Berkshire's stake in Alphabet by acquiring 36.4 million shares, bringing total holdings to over 54 million shares, which constitutes nearly 6% of Berkshire's total portfolio, reflecting confidence in tech stocks and strategic positioning for future growth.
- Stock Buyback Initiative: Abel has authorized up to $325 million for stock repurchases, which is expected to enhance per-share value, and he is reportedly investing his entire after-tax salary of $15 million into Berkshire stock, signaling strong confidence in the company's future prospects.
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Analyst Views on GOOGL
Wall Street analysts forecast GOOGL stock price to rise
33 Analyst Rating
26 Buy
7 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 368.530
Low
305.00
Averages
374.25
High
400.00
Current: 368.530
Low
305.00
Averages
374.25
High
400.00
About GOOGL
Alphabet Inc. is a holding company. The Company's segments include Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The Google Cloud segment includes infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers. Its Other Bets segment is engaged in the sale of healthcare-related services and Internet services. Its Google Cloud provides enterprise-ready cloud services, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace. Google Cloud Platform provides access to solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) offerings, including its AI infrastructure, Vertex AI platform, and Gemini for Google Cloud; cybersecurity, and data and analytics. Google Workspace includes cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Meet.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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