The Berkshire Beat: April 3, 2026
All of the latest Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway news!
In his first interview as a retiree, Warren Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick that very little has actually changed since he handed the reins over to Greg Abel.
The Oracle looked suitably relaxed in a white turtleneck and V-neck sweater, though he still logs regular hours at Berkshire Hathaway HQ. “Well,” he said, “[my life] is not that much different. I go in every day to the office — [though] I don’t accomplish hardly anything. Greg is so good. It’s kind of embarrassing how good he is.”
“Greg covers more ground in a day than I would in a week,” laughed Buffett, “even when I was at my peak.”
Buffett remains heavily involved in Berkshire’s investment decisions, but with one clear caveat. “I won’t make any [moves] that Greg thinks are wrong,” he said. “If Greg differed with me on anything, we wouldn’t be doing it.”
Just like always, Buffett still calls Mark Millard each morning before the bell to adjust limit prices on Berkshire’s target list. And, in one of the newsier moments of the chat, revealed that he recently made “one tiny purchase” for the conglomerate’s portfolio.
✨ Overall, though, Buffett does not see a whole lot of value in today’s market. When Quick noted that stock prices had dropped substantially, he gently disagreed. “Three times since I’ve taken over Berkshire, it has gone down more than 50%,” he said. “This is nothing. If [stocks] are five or six percent cheaper, that doesn’t [appeal to me]. We aren’t in it to make five or six percent. But we’re not a big seller [right now], either.”
✨ “I sold [Apple] too soon,” admitted Buffett, “but I bought it even sooner — so it worked out.” Even after the sales, Apple remains Berkshire’s #1 stock position. A fact which suits Buffett just fine. “It’s better than any business we own outright.”
“I’m very happy to have it as our largest holding,” he said, “[but] I was not happy to have it be as large as almost everything else combined.” Buffett even added that “it’s not impossible” that Apple could fall to a price where “we would buy a lot [more] of it.”
✨ On the subject of tech regulation, Buffett does not expect any potential action to harm Apple. “I think the consumer is in love with [Apple devices] too much,” he said. “I don’t think Washington will do anything that destroys something that every one of their voters likes.”
✨ Buffett also weighed in on a few current events of interest:
Iran: “It will be more difficult [to avoid nuclear disaster] if Iran has the bomb than [if] they don’t.”
Inflation: “I wish [the Federal Reserve] had a zero inflation target. Once you start saying you’re going to tolerate 2%, that compounds pretty dramatically over time. You’re saying to people, ‘If you’re getting less than 2% on your money, you’re going backwards.’ I don’t like that particular goal.”
Politics: “Now, I’m an independent.”
✨ And, finally, a note for any deep-pocketed readers: Buffett also announced that his famous charity lunch auction will return this year for the first time since 2022. But, this time, co-hosted by NBA star Steph Curry and wife Ayesha Curry. Online bidding begins on May 7 and will run for one week.
More news and notes from the Berkshire Hathaway orbit…
Berkshire Hathaway released its Shareholders Guide for next month’s annual meeting. It includes a short message from new CEO Greg Abel outlining the schedule for the weekend and the format for this year’s Q&A sessions. If you cannot make it out to Omaha for the main event, shareholders can submit their question(s) to moderator Becky Quick at berkshirequestions@cnbc.com. Note: Berkshire will, for the first time, enforce a Clear Bag Policy for all AGM attendees.
Barron’s spoke to Todd Combs about his new role at JPMorgan Chase, where he will lead the bank’s $10 billion Strategic Investment Group. “[We will invest in] everything our country has outsourced and abdicated over recent decades,” he told Andy Serwer. “We want to invest in places where the puck is going so that America can control its own future.” Like defense, re-industrialization, and semiconductors.
When asked why he chose to join Chase, he cited his deep familiarity with the organization — where he has been a director since 2016 — and a desire to make an impact on our nation’s future. “You want to find things in life that are big and important,” said Combs, “that are worth doing and doable.”
Interestingly, he had little to say about his time at Berkshire — other than sounding worn out by the grind of serving as both investment manager and GEICO CEO. “I was back and forth from Omaha to D.C. for six years running GEICO,” said Combs. “That was a long time. I’m very proud — not to go down that rabbit hole — of what we accomplished at GEICO. Berkshire is an animal unto itself that’s completely unique.”
Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane made the media rounds over the past week — speaking with both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal about his decision to pause the company’s planned separation. “The business [simply] wasn’t as strong as it needed to be to have a successful separation,” he told the Times. “It was clearly a better decision to keep it together and fix it, and to start to look for those areas where the scale of what we have is an advantage.”
Cahillane changed his mind on the separation after meeting with employees and hearing horror stories about how 3G Capital cut costs to the bone. “The number of times I heard, ‘I’ve only got one junior person working on this brand. I can’t make a difference that way.’ It was really a cry for resources.” As a result, Kraft Heinz will now invest $600 million to build its brands back up in the consumer’s eye.
“There was a lot of focus on financial engineering and profits and not enough focus on the consumer and reinvesting,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a ‘forever brand’.”
Henrique Braun officially replaced James Quincey as Coca-Cola CEO this week. Quincey, who will remain as chairman, told CNBC that he feels the dawn of artificial intelligence necessitates fresh leadership at the top. “My job is to think who’s the best team to put on the field to get the next wave [of organizational momentum] done,” he said. “I concluded that, actually, it was time for someone else on the field for the next wave of growth.”
“In a pre-gen-AI mode, we made a lot of progress,” continued Quincey, “but now there’s a huge new shift coming along. [Coke needs] someone with the energy to pursue a completely new transformation of the enterprise.”
There’s a lot going on at NetJets these days. The Berkshire-owned private jet company took delivery of its first Bombardier Global 8000 — the world’s fastest civilian jet since the Concorde — which opens up new routes for customers with its ultra-long range. NetJets also signed soccer superstar Lionel Messi as a brand ambassador ahead of this summer’s World Cup. The partnership will include exclusive, invitation-only events for clients and youth soccer clinics.
NetJets president Patrick Gallagher also shared two other pieces of good news. He said that retention rates of current customers are as “high as we’ve ever seen them” and that the company looks to be on pace for another 50,000+ increase in flight hours.
AM Best affirmed superior financial strength and credit ratings for Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies — and shared a few interesting details about the insurance subsidiary. (1) BHHC’s key operating metrics consistently outperform peer benchmarks; (2) it has earned underwriting profits every year for more than a decade; (3) nearly half of BHHC’s direct writings are derived from California — in particular, workers compensation — but that concentration has declined over time; (4) commercial auto and property lines now account for about half of total premiums; and (5) favorable reserve development — a strong indicator of conservative underwriting and disciplined risk management — has consistently boosted earnings for 10+ years.
And, finally, a couple of odds and ends to finish off the week…
Another yen bond sale could be in the offing.
This week, Berkshire collected $212 million in quarterly dividends from Coca-Cola, $1.9 million from Lamar Advertising, and $429,000 from Allegion.
I checked out that Bombardier Global 8000 and it's an amazing plane.