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For the first time in more than half a century, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) entered the year in uncharted territory. Its longtime CEO, Warren Buffett, retired on Dec. 31, giving control of the company's day-to-day operations and its $356 billion portfolio to successor Greg Abel.
Abel wasted little time making his mark. During the first quarter, he sent 16 stocks packing and reduced Berkshire's stakes in six others. He also piled into Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)(NASDAQ:GOOG), which has become Berkshire's No. 3 holding.
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While some changes are apparent, such as tech stocks being on the menu in a way that never existed when Warren Buffett was running the show, several core principles remain the same. Abel shares Buffett's long-term ethos and his unwavering desire for value.
This latter point has been on full display through the first six months of 2026, with Abel spending close to $4.8 billion buying the Oracle of Omaha's favorite stock -- and chances are he spent billions more in the third quarter.
Quarterly filed Form 13Fs with regulators allow investors to track which stocks Wall Street's savviest money managers have been buying and selling. However, Warren Buffett's favorite stock won't show up in Berkshire's quarterly 13Fs.
Rather, investors will have to peruse the company's quarterly filing for info on the stock Buffett and Abel have been actively buying over the last eight years. On the page preceding the executive certifications, investors will find a detailed trading history from the latest quarter for the stock Buffett holds nearest and dearest to his heart... Berkshire Hathaway.
Before mid-July 2018, Buffett and his now-late right-hand man, Charlie Munger, could only repurchase their company's stock if it fell to or below 120% of book value (as of the most recent quarter). Given that Berkshire never dropped to this line in the sand, not a dime was spent on buybacks.
On July 17, 2018, Berkshire's board amended its buyback program to allow its investing superstars to get off the proverbial bench. As long as Berkshire had at least $30 billion in combined cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasuries on its balance sheet, and the Oracle of Omaha viewed shares as intrinsically cheap, buybacks could continue without an end date or ceiling.
Buffett repurchased shares for 24 consecutive quarters after these covenants were amended. Meanwhile, his successor, Greg Abel, spent $234 million buying back Berkshire's stock in the first quarter and an additional $4.53 billion during the second quarter. Collectively, Abel and Buffett have deployed around $82 billion for buybacks since mid-July 2018.
Over the last eight years, capital has always been available for share repurchases. The only wildcard has been whether Berkshire Hathaway's stock was attractively valued.
For a 21-month period (June 2024-February 2026), Berkshire's stock spent most of its time at a 60% or greater premium to book value. Unsurprisingly, not one penny was spent on buybacks during this time frame.
However, a sub-50% premium to book value has historically been a green light for share repurchases. Given that Berkshire Hathaway spent almost the entirety of the third quarter oscillating between a 40% and 50% premium to book, the odds are good that Abel deployed billions on buybacks of Warren Buffett's favorite stock in the September-ended quarter.
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Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Purchased Nearly $4.8 Billion of the Oracle of Omaha's Favorite Stock This Year -- and He Likely Just Spent Several Billion More was originally published by The Motley Fool
