Berkshire's "New King" Statement: These Four Stocks Are "Forever Unchanged," Hinting at No More Apple Sell-offs?

Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO, Greg Abel, outlined the investment blueprint for the post-Warren Buffett era in his first shareholder letter. He characterized Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s as the company’s “core holdings,” implying these positions will remain stable over the long term and are unlikely to be reduced easily.

In the letter, Abel stated that these four companies are targets that Berkshire “fully understands, highly endorses their management teams, and expects to see continuous compound growth over decades,” and he explicitly mentioned that the related holdings will be “maintained with limited trading.” Data shows that these four stocks account for over half of Berkshire’s approximately $300 billion stock portfolio; when including the holdings in five Japanese trading companies worth about $35 billion, the nine core stocks together make up two-thirds of the overall portfolio.

Notably, the top five holdings of Berkshire—Bank of America and Chevron—are not included in the above core holdings list. Meanwhile, Abel did not specify who is responsible for daily stock investment decisions, leaving considerable uncertainty about Berkshire’s future investment strategy.

Four “Perpetual Holdings” with Moats

Coca-Cola and American Express have been held by Berkshire for over 40 years, and Moody’s for more than 20 years. For a long time, these stocks have been viewed by the market as typical “permanent holdings,” partly due to their very low cost basis.

For example, Berkshire’s average purchase price for Coca-Cola in the late 1980s was about $3 per share, while last Friday’s closing price hit $81.56, setting a new high. Apple has been held for about ten years, with an average cost of around $27 per share, compared to the current price of $264.

It is worth noting that the Apple position was previously significantly reduced. Buffett has cut this holding by about 80% from its peak over the past few years, ending 2025 with 227 million shares. Abel’s latest comments suggest that the Apple position will no longer be further reduced. Barron’s analysis pointed out that when Berkshire sold down Apple, it seemed to prioritize selling higher-cost shares to reduce the tax burden from large-scale sales in 2024.

Bank of America and Chevron Not on the List

The absence of Bank of America and Chevron from the core holdings list has attracted market attention. Data shows that over the past 18 months, Berkshire has cut its Bank of America holdings by about half to 517 million shares, worth approximately $28 billion; Chevron’s position is valued at around $20 billion.

Abel mentioned in the letter that Berkshire holds “meaningful positions” in “a few other companies,” and that capital allocation for these will be “more dynamic,” with the possibility of elevating them to core holdings in the future. This leaves room for interpretation but also indicates that these two stocks are still in the observation stage rather than locked-in positions.

Questions About Portfolio Management Structure and Abel’s Role

Abel explicitly stated in the letter that “the ultimate responsibility for investment decisions lies with me as CEO,” and revealed that Buffett will still work five days a week in the office and is “available for consultation at any time” regarding capital allocation (including stock investments).

However, Abel himself has no experience managing a portfolio and also needs to oversee more than 50 subsidiaries under Berkshire. In terms of investment management, Ted Weschler has served as Berkshire’s investment manager since 2012, and Abel said he will continue managing about 6% of the portfolio, roughly maintaining the previous scale.

This arrangement contrasts sharply with Berkshire’s public statement in 2011 when Weschler was recruited. At that time, Berkshire announced that after Buffett stepped down as CEO, Todd and Ted might, with the help of an additional manager, be responsible for managing Berkshire’s entire equity and debt investment portfolio. Todd Combs, another investment manager, left last December to join JPMorgan Chase in an investment role.

Barron’s pointed out that currently, Berkshire does not have a dedicated manager responsible for the daily management of the overall investment portfolio. Coupled with Abel’s characterization of “permanent holdings,” some observers believe that future stock investments may no longer be the main source of value creation for Berkshire, which could have significant implications for a company that built its reputation on successful stock investing in its early days.

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