Despite the recent appointment of Greg Abel as CEO, Warren Buffett appears to be maintaining his firm grip on Berkshire Hathaway’s stock-picking decisions. While Abel has been involved in significant capital allocation, such as the acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home, Buffett initiated key investments like the increased stake in Alphabet. This suggests that while Abel is managing operations, Buffett continues to be the primary driver of the company’s equity portfolio strategy.
Additionally, a federal appeals court has upheld a significant settlement regarding real estate commission disputes involving Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary HomeServices of America, rejecting challenges from some plaintiffs. The appeals court affirmed a lower court’s approval of the settlement, which resolves claims of artificially inflated real estate prices due to commission-splitting rules.
(This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.)
Buffett, not Abel, appears to still be calling the shots on stocks
Berkshire Hathaway reported a significant decline in its large cash reserves during the second quarter, the first notable drop since early 2022. This led many, including this publication, to believe that Greg Abel, the new CEO, was beginning to make his mark by actively deploying capital.
However, a closer look at the company's equity portfolio as of June 30 suggests a more complex picture, indicating that Warren Buffett himself is still deeply involved in major investment decisions.
Barron's Andrew Bary argues that Abel has not been making stock calls, asserting that Buffett, despite his advanced age, continues to drive significant investment decisions for Berkshire's substantial equity portfolio, reportedly over $350 billion.
While Buffett acknowledges close collaboration with Abel, stating that neither would act without the other's approval, he revealed in a recent CNBC interview that he initiated Berkshire's investment in Alphabet, a stock that first appeared in the portfolio in the third quarter of last year.
Bloomberg News reported that Berkshire's $10 billion purchase of Alphabet shares in the second quarter occurred after Abel gave a swift approval to a proposal that originated from a discreet weekend call from Goldman Sachs, which was arranging Alphabet's significant equity offering. It is presumed that Buffett also gave his consent.
Bary suggests that the second-largest purchase in Q2, Delta Air Lines, was likely orchestrated by portfolio manager Ted Weschler. He points out that Abel, lacking formal portfolio management experience and appearing to be focused on acquiring new operating companies, is unlikely to be making notable stock-picking decisions.
While Abel has been involved in significant capital allocation, such as the $6.8 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home (which closed after Q2 ended), the primary equity investments seem to still be within Buffett's purview.
Close Race for Third Place in Berkshire's Portfolio
The substantial increase in Berkshire Hathaway's Alphabet stake, roughly $17 billion in the second quarter, propelled Google's parent company to become the third-largest holding in Berkshire's equity portfolio, surpassing Coca-Cola for that position. As of June 30, Alphabet shares held a market value of $37.77 billion, just ahead of Coca-Cola's $32.51 billion. However, in the interim, Alphabet shares have seen a decline while Coca-Cola has experienced a rally.
As a result, as of the market close on Friday, Alphabet's lead was a mere $20 million. On two specific days, July 30 and August 20, Coca-Cola momentarily surpassed Alphabet in market value at the close of trading.
Appeals Court Upholds Real Estate Commissions Settlement
A federal appeals court has upheld a significant settlement related to a class-action antitrust lawsuit against HomeServices of America, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Reuters reports that the settlement resolves claims that commission-splitting rules artificially inflated real estate prices.
HomeServices agreed to contribute $250 million to the overall settlement, which totals over $1 billion. The NAR also agreed to revise its commission-splitting rules as part of the agreement. Despite the approval, some plaintiffs have objected, seeking to overturn the deal.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision to approve the settlement. However, a lawyer representing some objectors indicated that they might seek a Supreme Court review, arguing that the settlement provided minimal compensation to class members.
This settlement follows a 2023 jury trial where the defendants were found liable for $1.78 billion in damages, a figure that could have been tripled under antitrust law. HomeServices CEO Chris Kelly stated that the court's decision provides "additional certainty" for the company and its stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) still faces a separate antitrust class-action lawsuit concerning real estate commissions, as a judge ruled that BHE is not covered by the HomeServices settlement.
The lawsuit against BHE was initiated two years ago, with plaintiffs' lawyers aiming to leverage Berkshire Hathaway's significant financial standing to drive change in corporate practices. The legal battle continues to highlight the complexities of antitrust issues in the real estate industry.
BUFFETT & BERKSHIRE AROUND THE INTERNET
Some links may require a subscription:
- Investor's Business Daily: Warren Buffett's Portfolio Is Looking Even More Like The Dow Jones Index. This Is Why.
- MarketWatch on Morningstar: Berkshire Hathaway bet big on the U.S. housing market. You probably shouldn't follow suit.
- Business Insider on MSN: Elon Musk finally has Warren Buffett as a shareholder — sort of
- Bloomberg's Masters in Business video podcast: Learning from Buffett and Munger
HIGHLIGHTS FROM CNBC'S BUFFETT ARCHIVE
'We look at what the market says is the utility' (1994)
Warren Buffett weighs in on how he judges a product's usefulness when he considers acquiring its maker.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm wondering, when you are considering an acquisition, how you look at the usefulness of the product?
WARREN BUFFETT: Well, obviously we look at what the market says is the utility. And the market has voted very heavily for Dexter Shoe, just to be an example.
I don't know many how many pairs of shoes they were turning out back in 1958 or thereabouts, but year after year, people have essentially voted for the utility of that product.
There are 750 million or so 8-ounce servings of one product or another from the Coca-Cola Company consumed every day around the world. And there are those of us who think the utility is very high. I can't make it through the day without a few. But there are other people that might rate it differently.
But essentially, people are going to get thirsty and if this is the way they take care of their thirst better than — and they prefer that to other forms — then I would rate the utility high of the product. But, I think it's hard to argue with the market on that.
I mean, people — some people may think that, you know, listening to a rock concert is not something of high utility. Other people might think it's terrific.
And so, we would judge that — I don't think we would come to an independent decision that there was some great utility residing in some product that had been available to the public for a long time, but that the public and not endorsed in any way.
BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH
Four weeks
Twelve months
BRK.A stock price: $743,500.00
BRK.B stock price: $495.82
BRK.B P/E (TTM): 12.47
Berkshire market capitalization: $1,061,294,568,527
Berkshire Cash as of June 30: $365.5 billion (Down 8.0% from March 31)
Excluding Rail Cash and Subtracting T-Bills Payable: $359.2 billion (Down 3.8% from March 31)
Berkshire repurchased $4.5 billion of its shares in Q2 2026.
(All figures are as of the date of publication, unless otherwise indicated)
BERKSHIRE'S TOP EQUITY HOLDINGS - Aug. 21, 2026
Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan, by market value, based on the latest closing prices.
Holdings are as of June 30, 2026, as reported in Berkshire Hathaway's 13F filing on August 14, 2026, except for:
- Mitsubishi, which is as of August 28, 2025
The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)
If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.
Also, Buffett's annual letters to shareholders are highly recommended reading. There are collected here on Berkshire's website.
-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch
