Greg Abel's first major move as Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive came May 31: a $8.5 billion agreement to buy homebuilder Taylor Morrison. The deal consolidates Berkshire's site-built housing operations into a single national platform, adding Taylor Morrison's 350 communities across 12 states.
His Q1 securities filing, released May 15, showed Abel selling 16 stocks—Visa, Mastercard, and UnitedHealth among them—while adding Delta Air Lines and increasing Alphabet by 224%. Berkshire's cash grew to $397 billion in Q1, up $24 billion from year-end 2025. The question Abel still faces: can he deploy the rest at the returns Buffett averaged.
Why it matters
Abel just placed his first big bet—$6.8 billion on a homebuilder. He still holds $397 billion in cash.
14 events
Latest: May 15th, 2026 · 1 month ago
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May 2026
13F filing reveals Abel's Q1 portfolio overhaul
LatestCapital Allocation
Berkshire's Q1 13F shows Abel sold 16 positions—including Visa, Mastercard, UnitedHealth, Domino's, and Amazon—while initiating a $2.6 billion stake in Delta Air Lines and a position in Macy's. Alphabet holdings increased by 224%.
Abel rules out Berkshire break-up at annual meeting
Statement
Abel tells shareholders the conglomerate structure will stay intact, saying Berkshire sees it 'working without the bureaucracy and bloated costs.' He also discusses AI, saying Berkshire will be a 'builder of technology, rather than just a buyer.'
First annual meeting without Buffett at the podium
Meeting
Abel hosts the Q&A in Omaha alongside Jain, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer, and reinsurance executive Adam Johnson; Buffett attends but does not take questions.
Q1 2026 earnings: cash climbs to $397 billion
Earnings
Berkshire posts $11.35 billion in Q1 operating profit, up 18% year-over-year, slightly missing analyst expectations of $11.56 billion. Cash and equivalents rose to $397 billion, up from $373 billion at year-end 2025.
March 2026
Abel restarts share buybacks
Capital Allocation
Resumes Berkshire's repurchase program after a long pause and discloses he will direct his entire 2026 after-tax salary into Class A shares.
February 2026
Abel calls cash pile 'dry powder'
Statement
In his first shareholder letter, Abel frames the $373 billion cash position as opportunistic reserves rather than a retreat from deal-making.
January 2026
Shares dip on first trading day of Abel era
Market
Class B shares decline modestly as investors digest the transition and begin assessing the size of any 'Buffett premium' embedded in the stock.
Abel becomes chief executive officer
Transition
Greg Abel formally takes the CEO role; Buffett moves to chairman emeritus, retaining a board seat but stepping back from operational decisions.
May 2025
Buffett announces year-end retirement
Succession
At the 2025 annual meeting, Buffett surprises shareholders by announcing he will step down as CEO on December 31 and recommend Abel as his successor.
August 2024
Berkshire crosses $1 trillion market cap
Milestone
Becomes the first non-technology U.S. company to reach a trillion-dollar valuation, underscoring the scale Abel will inherit.
November 2023
Charlie Munger dies at 99
Leadership
Buffett's longtime partner and vice chairman dies, removing the second voice that had shaped Berkshire's culture and capital allocation since the 1970s.
May 2021
Munger reveals Abel as designated successor
Disclosure
Charlie Munger inadvertently identifies Abel as the next CEO at the annual meeting; Buffett confirms shortly after that the board has aligned on Abel.
January 2018
Abel and Jain promoted to vice chairman
Succession
Buffett elevates Greg Abel to oversee non-insurance operations and Ajit Jain to oversee insurance, the first formal narrowing of the succession field.
May 1965
Buffett takes control of Berkshire Hathaway
Origin
Warren Buffett buys controlling stake in the failing Massachusetts textile maker and begins redirecting its capital into insurance and other businesses.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
August–October 2011
Apple succession from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook (2011)
Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO in August 2011 and died that October. Tim Cook, the operations chief Jobs had groomed, took over a company many doubted could thrive without its founder's product instincts. Apple's market value was about $350 billion at the handoff.
Then
The iPhone 4S launch went smoothly and Apple's revenue continued growing through 2012, easing immediate fears about Cook's product judgment.
Now
Apple's market value passed $3 trillion under Cook as he leaned on operations, services revenue, and capital returns rather than founder-style product reveals.
Why this matters now
Like Cook, Abel is an operations-first executive succeeding an iconic capital allocator. Apple's experience suggests that a different leadership style—if it fits the business—can extend rather than dilute a founder's company.
2 of 3
September 2001
GE succession from Jack Welch to Jeff Immelt (2001)
Jack Welch retired in September 2001 after 20 years building General Electric into a celebrated industrial-financial conglomerate worth roughly $400 billion at peak. Jeffrey Immelt inherited the model—and its hidden exposures in GE Capital—four days before the September 11 attacks.
Then
The 9/11 insurance and aviation shocks immediately tested Immelt; GE's stock entered a long decline that the 2008 financial crisis deepened.
Now
Immelt was forced out in 2017, and the company that had been America's most valuable was broken into three separate listed firms by 2024.
Why this matters now
GE is the cautionary parallel: a celebrated conglomerate whose successor inherited both the architecture and the hidden risks. Abel's $373 billion cash position is a defensive moat—but also a target if it is deployed poorly or not at all.
3 of 3
February 1988
Walmart succession from Sam Walton to David Glass (1988)
Sam Walton stepped down as Walmart's CEO in February 1988, handing the role to David Glass, a quiet operations executive who had been with the company since 1976. Walmart had about 1,200 stores and $16 billion in revenue at the transition.
Then
Glass continued Walton's aggressive store-expansion model, doubling the footprint within a few years and accelerating the rollout of Supercenters.
Now
Walmart became the world's largest retailer by 2002, by which point Glass had handed the role to Lee Scott. Glass was credited for preserving Walton's culture rather than reinventing it.
Why this matters now
The closest behavioral match for Abel: a low-profile operator inheriting a founder-built empire and choosing continuity over reinvention. Walmart's experience suggests Abel's stated patience may be an underrated strategy rather than a lack of ambition.
