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Berkshire Hathaway Stock Hits Record $539.82 After CEO Change

Bloomberg2 min read4 sources

Why did Berkshire Hathaway stock hit a record high?

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) stock closed at a record $539.82 on Tuesday, up 7% in three weeks, as investors grew confident in new CEO Greg Abel after Buffett's exit.

Key numbers

Class B record close (Tue)$539.82+$0.02 vs May 2025 record of $539.80
Class B intraday high (Wed)$543.06Above May 2025 intraday high of $543.02
Class A intraday high (Wed)$814,027.80New all-time high
Berkshire vs chip stocks, Oct 2-21+7%Chip stocks -15%
Class B, past 12 months+10%S&P 500 +15%
Cash deployed under Abel$21.3B+Deals, Alphabet stake, buybacks

What happened

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) stock closed at a record $539.82 on Tuesday, up 7% in three weeks, as investors grew confident in new CEO Greg Abel after Buffett's exit. That edged past the old record close of $539.80, set on May 2, 2025, the day before Warren Buffett said he would step down. On Wednesday the shares rose as high as $543.06 during the day, a new peak. Abel became CEO on January 1 and has put some of the company's huge cash pile to work, including a $10B stake in Alphabet and more than $4.5B of share buybacks.

Why it matters

Berkshire Hathaway's record suggests investors have, for now, stopped worrying about life after Warren Buffett. For most of the 17 months since his announcement the shares lagged: they slipped 1.9% over the rest of 2025 while the S&P 500 (a broad measure of big US companies) rose 21%. Berkshire also rose while chip stocks fell, showing how differently investors are treating the two.

Who this affects

Marketmixed
Low impact
Steadier stocks gain favor while chip stocks slide.
Companybullish
Medium impact
Berkshire shareholders gain; Abel earns an investor vote of confidence.
Competitorsneutral
Low impact
Little direct effect on rivals; chip stocks lagged Berkshire.
Industryneutral
Low impact
Cash-rich conglomerates look steadier while tech wobbles.

Berkshire Hathaway vs Chip Stocks, S&P 500

Berkshire HathawayBRK.B+7%+10%
Chip stocks (iShares Semiconductor ETF)SOXX-15%—
S&P 500 indexSPX—+15%

As of 2026-10-21

How we got here

  1. Warren Buffett announces he will step down as Berkshire CEO, with Greg Abel as successor.

  2. Greg Abel takes over as Berkshire Hathaway CEO.

  3. Class B shares close at a record, topping the May 2, 2025 close.

  4. Class B hits $543.06 and Class A $814,027.80 during the day, both new highs.

What to watch

  • Berkshire's third-quarter results, expected on a Saturday, show how its cash and deals are performing (per).2026-11-07
  • Whether the shares hold above the May 2025 peak while markets stay choppy.Q4 2026
  • Further use of Berkshire's cash pile, above $360B, for deals or buybacks.Q4 2026

Educational content only. Not investment advice.

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