The Berkshire Beat: December 19, 2026
All of the latest Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway news!
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As Christmas draws nearer and nearer, I have been treating myself to a daily dose of Berkshire Hathaway — via the See’s Candies advent calendar.
See’s legendary pricing power is something of a double-edged sword for me — great for the company’s bottom line (and, by extension, all Berkshire shareholders), but bad for my wallet. Factor in cross-country shipping from California and See’s must remain but an occasional indulgence around these parts.
That said, See’s never disappoints. The chocolate speaks for itself, but the little details — like the paper craft Mary See sipping cocoa in front of the fire and family photos lining the walls — really show off the company’s commitment to quality (and make any sticker shock a little easier to accept).
This post is not sponsored or anything. I’m just an impressed customer. Though I am certainly open to being paid in chocolate. See’s, the ball is in your court.
This short-but-sweet holiday edition includes: Howard Marks on the Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast; a surprising shakeup atop Kraft Heinz; Mohnish Pabrai talks OxyChem and Occidental Petroleum; Berkshire Hathaway Energy might bring LNG to Port Canaveral; an NFL Hall of Famer sings Apple’s praises; Coca-Cola tries to rescue its sale of Costa Coffee; dividends galore; and more.
More news and notes from the Berkshire Hathaway orbit…
Howard Marks appeared on the Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast over the weekend. And, while the whole interview was great and well worth a listen, my favorite moment came when host William Green discussed a recent dinner he had with Nick Sleep of Nomad Investment Partnership fame. Sleep keeps a very low public profile these days, so any little crumbs of wisdom from the master are worth their weight in gold.
Even secondhand crumbs like these.
Over dinner, Green confided that while he had done well with his investments over the past sixteen years, he now feared a potential market downturn could erase some of those hard-earned gains. And, presumably, wondered aloud if he should make any defensive moves in preparation of the worst.
“Don’t fiddle, William,” said Sleep. “Just don’t fiddle. If it goes down 50%, that’s fine. You’ll buy more and it will be fine.”
Later in the interview, Marks made a similar point. “The most important thing for investors is to get on that gravy train and stay on it,” he said. “Invest early, invest a lot, and don’t tamper with it.”
Earlier this month, Mohnish Pabrai shared his thoughts on Occidental Petroleum’s sale of OxyChem — and the oiler’s future prospects — with Pabrai Wagons Fund shareholders. “The OxyChem deal that Berkshire did is a good one for Oxy,” he said, “because it brings their leverage down. They had pressure on their balance sheet and this deal has given them significant breathing room, which is excellent.”
Pabrai highlighted two potential upside factors for Occidental. “First, if we get a bump in oil prices at some point, Oxy is a major beneficiary of that. Second, if there is further innovation in fracking that brings down costs. Oxy is already one of the lowest-cost operators, but if they are able to pull one more rabbit out of the hat — [and] fracking has already pulled many rabbits out of the hat — there is additional upside.”
“Charlie [Munger] used to say that it is not a zero probability scenario that they could pull one or two more rabbits out of the hat.”
Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s BHE GT&S hopes to build a new liquified natural gas facility in Brevard County, Florida. In partnership with Chesapeake Utilities, the plant would supply LNG to both the cruise industry and the space sector — which both operate out of nearby Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center. If the Port Authority approves the land sale, this facility could be up and running as soon as 2029.
In an attempt to assuage nervous NIMBYs in the local community, BHE vice president Roger Williams vouched for the project’s safety and necessity. “Natural gas infrastructure exists in our communities today and in many of our homes,” he said. “LNG trucks are already here fueling launches at the Cape — and that’s going to continue as long as the number of [cruise and space] launches ramps up.”
In fact, added Williams, building this facility would actually cut down on the number of trucks transporting LNG and the distances they travel on local roadways. Win-win.
New year, new CEO for Kraft Heinz. Steve Cahillane, the former head of Kellanova, will take the reins of Kraft Heinz on January 1, 2026. His experience shepherding Kellogg through its own split — and then landing Kellanova on Mars — should prove useful as Kraft Heinz gears up for its own separation sometime next year.
Post-split, Cahillane will lead the higher-growth Global Taste Elevation Co., focused mostly on sauces and condiments. Outgoing CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera, originally slated to run the slower-growth North American Grocery Co., will now leave the company after a brief transition period.
Cahillane told the Financial Times that this was “love at first sight” and that he has “the game plan and the roadmap to not only return the company to organic growth, but then to do the separation”.
NFL Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton shared with Business Insider why Apple remains his most trusted long-term investment. He started buying shares in 2015 — a year before Berkshire did the same — and now considers it a permanent holding.
“I started getting to know some of the people there,” said Tarkenton, “and they were brilliant people. I began investing in Apple and I don’t sell it. I reinvest all the dividends. I read about them and what they’re doing every day — so I know that’s the company I believe in more than any other.”
Tarkenton also offered a big vote of confidence to CEO Tim Cook. “He’s a very different person from Steve Jobs, but he’s been just as good and maybe even better for Apple. Tim Cook came in and didn’t try to be Steve Jobs. Instead, he was his authentic self — and he’s a genius leader. Coming in after an icon like Steve Jobs is a tough job and he has handled it magnificently.”
And, finally, a few odds and ends to finish off the week…
According to the Financial Times, Coca-Cola’s sale of Costa Coffee now hangs in the balance. The soft drink giant is holding last-ditch talks with TDR Capital in hopes of salvaging the deal. Negotiations reportedly stalled out over price.
Seth Klarman wrote about Warren Buffett’s impending retirement in The Atlantic: “The world of investing will be different without Warren Buffett at the helm of Berkshire … His retirement means the waning of a north star: a consistent voice of calm and reason, a steady presence who can always place the latest unexpected market movement or economic development in its proper perspective.”
This week alone, Berkshire collected $204 million in quarterly dividends from Coca-Cola, $11.1 million from UnitedHealth, and $3.75 million from Alphabet.
Dairy Queen executive vice president of marketing Maria Hokanson dove into the Blizzard maker’s brand power at a recent MediaPost summit.
I loved Klarman's essay on Buffett. I stick with his next sentence:
"He is not a brilliant artist or a great inventor or a record-setting athlete. Instead, his brilliance—a low-key, midwestern type of brilliance—found expression in the prosaic art of investing: buying this stock and avoiding that one."
Thanks, Kingswell and happy holidays!
I recently visited a See’s location in California. It is a small stand alone shop on a large lot in a very expensive area and no doubt the modest structure has stood there for decades on land purchased at a tiny fraction of current market value. I walked in shortly after the store opened and was immediately greeted and offered a sample. After browsing for a few minutes, I got another sample. I love it … Cialdini’s reciprocity principle in action! I bought three pounds of chocolate to give away as gifts for a whopping $96. I remember when a pound of See’s was about $8. Several other customers were in the shop when I left. I wish we could figure out how to export the See’s business to the east coast!