Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel
Greg Abel, who succeeded billionaire investor Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO in January, noted in a CNBC interview this week that he is committed to the conglomerate's longstanding policies and values — and keeps in frequent contact with his 95-year-old predecessor, who remains chairman.
Appearing on "Squawk Box," Abel, 63, explained recent personal and corporate stock moves as efforts during the leadership transition to demonstrate his alignment with shareholder interests.
Here are 6 points that the new CEO made Thursday about succeeding Buffett, who served as CEO for 60 years.
1. Abel is investing all his 2026 take-home pay in Berkshire stock.
Specifically, he spent about $15.3 million this week to buy 21 Class A Berkshire shares, and expects to invest his after-tax compensation in Berkshire every year for what he anticipates will be a two-decade run as CEO.
"The why's really important," Abel said, explaining that "absolute alignment" with shareholders is critical.
"As CEO I absolutely obviously believe in Berkshire," he said. "With the transition from Warren I inherited a company that has an incredible foundation. I believe in its future, the opportunities that exist, there so I was very excited to use my after-tax proceeds and my compensation [to buy the stock]."
He added: "I'm committed to doing this every year, my entire salary, as long as I'm the CEO."
2. Berkshire has resumed buybacks.
The Omaha-based conglomerate paused share repurchases in 2024 and this week disclosed that it's resuming them under a longstanding policy.
Berkshire's policy calls for buybacks when executives think the company's intrinsic value exceeds its market price, Abel noted. He added that, while the company generally doesn't disclose share buyback timing or amounts, he felt it was important to do so this time, in the interest of transparency amid the leadership transition. He said he "absolutely talked to Warren" about the move.
3. Abel talks to Buffett often.
Buffett comes to the office daily and Abel frequently consults with him.
"If it's not every day it's every couple of days," the new CEO said.
4. The new CEO could approve a big deal quickly.
Buffett reportedly had the freedom to make multibillion-dollar acquisitions without prior board approval. Abel suggested he could make a major deal in as little as three days.
"We have a very good process in place between Warren and I and our board as to how we'll act, as we have in the past, and we'll act very decisively and quickly," Abel told CNBC. "We have certain parameters, or I would make sure, for example, our lead director's aware of what we are doing. But it does allow me to act and act quickly."
5. Don't expect dividends anytime soon.
Abel doesn't expect Berkshire to start approving dividends for shareholders in the near future, in keeping with Buffett's practice.
"We will retain a dollar if we see the opportunity to create more than a dollar for our shareholders. And that's been the test, and as long as we meet that test we will continue to hold the dollar because we believe we can create value for our shareholders long term," Abel said.
Berkshire would issue a dividend if it didn't meet that test, but the company clearly is now, he added. The company sees share repurchases as an opportunity to effectively return capital to shareholders.
6. A pivot to blockchain investing isn't coming, either.
Abel showed no interest in opening Berkshire to cryptocurrency investing or to blockchain technology.
"I don't think you'll see crypto," he said. Pressed on whether Berkshire might consider blockchain, the technology underling cryptocurrency transactions, Abel said, "I haven't seen anything that would make sense that there's a value proposition where you see the asset and how it produces value."
Greg Abel. Credit: Nati Harnik/AP Photo
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