Des Moines resident and Berkshire Hathaway’s new chief executive, Greg Abel, assured investors that he will continue the careful, deliberate management of his predecessor, Warren Buffett, as he steers the American conglomerate.
Abel is expected to continue living in Des Moines despite Berkshire’s headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. He took over for longtime CEO Warren Buffett on Jan. 1.
In his first annual letter to shareholders on Saturday, Feb. 28, Abel said Berkshire’s culture and values are unchanged and will continue “in perpetuity.”
Abel also said Berkshire’s $373.3 billion stake in cash and equivalents gives the company plenty of “dry powder,” but that capital deployment will remain “intentional and deliberate.”
Abel also paid homage to Buffett, who led Berkshire for 60 years and remains Berkshire’s chairman, calling him a “remarkable CEO” who has left the company well-positioned for decades to come. Abel said Buffett is “arguably the greatest investor of all time” and pledged to maintain his discipline in investing Berkshire’s capital.
“We are committed to strengthening the great legacy built by Warren Buffett and his business partner Charlie Munger, ensuring it endures through our commitment to excellence,” Abel wrote. “I recognize how you want us to succeed together, and to do so in the right way.”
Abel is a native of Alberta, Canada, but moved to Iowa more than 25 years ago lead MidAmerican Energy Holdings.
He said some of Berkshire’s businesses needed better operating performance. He is widely expected to have a more hands-on role than Buffett in overseeing them, though the businesses are expected to maintain their general day-to-day autonomy.
“Top-line growth is a challenge, and Abel teed up an expectation that reinsurance and commercial insurance growth may be nonexistent in 2026,” said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research in New York. “Revenue growth across the board was also pretty tepid.”
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
