Warren Buffett stayed true to his ways in his final year as Berkshire CEO

In a year of record stock highs, artificial-intelligence moonshots and tense standoffs on global trade, Warren Buffett spent much of it watching, and waiting for the right moment to strike.

- Heather Gillers

Buffett spent the year eschewing expensive deals, selling more stocks than he bought, and adding to the company's cash pile.

(AP)

Buffett, one of corporate America's most-prolific—and patient—dealmakers, stuck to his script in his final year as Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive. With the market's rally limiting opportunities to make large acquisitions, Berkshire sold more stocks than it bought and stockpiled cash.

He further pared Berkshire’s stake in Apple when tech stocks were still booming, and bought a petrochemical company with cash. But as the year drew to a close, it became clear Buffett's biggest move in 2025 was his May announcement from the stage of Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha, Neb., that he would cede his CEO post to Greg Abel at the end of the year. Even Abel was surprised by the timing.

“Warren exits in his final year having invested the same ways he did for six decades: patiently opportunistic and never placing the company in harm's way,” said Chris Bloomstran, president and chief investment officer of Semper Augustus Investments Group, who has invested in Berkshire since 2000.

Americans have relied on Buffett's straight talk for decades to make sense of all manner of financial developments. In March, weeks before President Trump’s taxes on imports set off a historic market crash, Buffett warned that his threatened tariffs amounted to an “act of war.”