Warren Buffett Is No Longer Berkshire's Chairman. Here’s Why I'm Buying the Stock Anyway.

Warren Buffett announced his retirement from the CEO role at Berkshire Hathaway on Friday, stepping down as Executive Chairman effective immediately. He had already passed the CEO torch to Greg Abel at the end of last year, but had continued to play a significant role in Berkshire's investment decisions. Buffett's son, Howard Buffett, will take over as chairman in a long-planned succession.

While some may view this as the end of an era, the author disagrees and plans to buy more Berkshire stock. The author explains that the "Buffett premium" largely came out of the stock price during Buffett's retirement announcement at the May 2025 shareholder meeting, when the stock hit an all-time high before settling below it. Despite Buffett's departure, Abel has been allocating Berkshire's capital like an owner, ending 14 consecutive quarters of net equity selling, increasing buybacks, and making a significant acquisition.

The author notes that Howard Buffett is not playing a day-to-day role at the company, but rather ensuring that Berkshire maintains the culture built over six decades by his father. The author emphasizes that Berkshire has spent decades building a culture that will continue for decades or even centuries after Buffett's departure.

Berkshire Hathaway is a collection of dozens of businesses, a massive stock portfolio of great companies, and offers the most financial flexibility of any publicly traded company. The author concludes that Berkshire Hathaway remains a strong investment, and Berkshire Hathaway wasn't among the 10 best stocks recommended by the Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team.