Warren Buffett's retirement announcement has sent shockwaves through Wall Street, with Berkshire Hathaway shares plummeting 14% since May 2025.
According to the Daily Mail, Berkshire Hathaway, the investment titan built by Buffett over six decades, is facing a historic downturn as investors grapple with the uncertainty of life after the Oracle of Omaha.
Buffett, now 94, has led Berkshire since 1965, turning a faltering textile business into a global powerhouse with stakes in giants like Apple and Dairy Queen. Under his stewardship, the company has outperformed the S&P 500 by over 5 million percentage points—a staggering feat of wealth creation. His fortune stands at $141 billion, ranking him tenth on Bloomberg's billionaires index.
In April 2025, investors flocked to Berkshire as a haven amid market jitters over tariff concerns. "As the worries about tariffs started to build... people were rotating into safety," noted Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust, in a statement to the Financial Times.
But the mood shifted in May 2025 when Buffett announced his retirement, just as Berkshire Class A shares hit a record high of $812,855 per share. Since then, selling pressure has mounted, driven by fears over the firm's future without its legendary leader.
While the S&P 500 has climbed 11% since May, Berkshire's 14% drop marks the widest performance gap between the two since 1990. This divergence has rattled long-term shareholders, many of whom hold legacy Class A shares passed down through generations.
Greg Abel, Buffett's trusted deputy, is slated to take the reins on January 1, 2026. Yet, investor confidence remains shaky as the transition looms.
Details on who’s selling Berkshire stock remain unclear, though quarterly reports from large investors and hedge funds due later in August 2025 may shed light. For now, the market’s verdict is clear: uncertainty reigns.
Interestingly, this sell-off comes despite strong performance across Berkshire’s operations, including its BNSF railroad. The company’s utilities, manufacturing, service, and retail divisions all reported profit growth in Q2 2025. Fundamentals seem solid, but sentiment is sour.
Buffett’s actions add to the cautionary tale—he halted share repurchases in May 2024, adhering to a policy of buying back stock only when priced below intrinsic value. Berkshire has also been a net seller of equities for 11 straight quarters, amassing a cash hoard of $344 billion.
Major divestitures include $3.2 billion in banking stocks, with a $1 billion exit from Citigroup and a $2 billion cut in Bank of America holdings. "Berkshire has clearly been reducing its exposure," observed Larry Cunningham, director at the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center, in comments to The Telegraph. "That activity signals a cautious outlook," Cunningham added. This retreat from banking reflects a broader wariness, even as Buffett’s earlier 2025 moves—like boosting stakes in five Japanese trading houses—spurred significant market gains.
Buffett’s investment decisions have long moved markets, as seen in 2024 with his $563 million buys in Occidental Petroleum, Sirius XM, and VeriSign, which lifted those stocks. Yet, as Bill Stone told the Financial Times, "What is really moving in this market is technology," an area outside Buffett’s traditional focus.
For investors like us—focused on liberty, efficiency, and building wealth—this moment is a wake-up call. Berkshire’s cash pile and conservative stance offer a lesson in frugality, but the stock’s slide shows how sentiment can override fundamentals. Consider diversifying beyond single-name risks and eyeing sectors like tech that are driving broader market gains.
Buffett’s empire faces a crossroads, and Wall Street’s harsh verdict on his exit underscores the fragility of even the mightiest legacies. Stay vigilant—watch for those upcoming investor disclosures, and remember that markets reward patience and discipline over panic.