# Berkshire shares hit highest level since Buffett's exit plan > Warren Buffett's successor Greg Abel is deploying cash and buying back stock, lifting Berkshire to near all-time highs a year after investors feared the Buffett premium was dissolving. - Title: Berkshire shares hit highest level since Buffett's exit plan - Summary: Warren Buffett's successor Greg Abel is deploying cash and buying back stock, lifting Berkshire to near all-time highs a year after investors feared the… - Keywords: berkshire hathaway, warren buffett, greg abel, stock market, bending spoons, capital allocation, buybacks, alphabet, coca-cola, chevron, business, finance - Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/10/17/berkshire-rally-to-highest-since-buffett-announcement.html - Author: Alex Crippen - Published: 2026-10-17T12:46:21+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: berkshire hathaway, warren buffett, greg abel, stock market, bending spoons, capital allocation, buybacks, alphabet, coca-cola, chevron, business, finance ## Berkshire hits highest level since Buffett's exit Berkshire Hathaway shares closed Friday at their highest level since Warren Buffett told shareholders at the May twenty twenty-five annual meeting he planned to step down as CEO at year end. ## Shares fell fourteen percent after announcement The day before that Saturday surprise, both Class A and Class B shares had closed at all-time highs. ## Recovery has taken more than a year It has been more than a year since their post-meeting low in August of twenty twenty-five.BRK. ## Class B shares also near all-time high The B shares finished at five hundred thirty-two dollars and two cents, also one point four percent under their all-time closing high of five hundred thirty-nine dollars and eighty cents. ## Ten-session winning streak adds five percent A loss Thursday broke a ten-session winning streak that added five percent to Berkshire's stock prices but they rebounded with gains of more than one percent Friday. ## Abel deploying cash on buybacks and investments Investors may be happy Berkshire is spending some of its big cash pile under CEO Greg Abel, with four point five billion dollars of buybacks in Q two, investments in Alphabet, Taylor Morrison Home, and… ## Three hundred sixty billion dollars in cash remains Berkshire still has roughly three hundred sixty billion dollars in cash, a good symbol of continued patience under the new CEO. Higher interest rates mean they will be making more money on that money. ## Insurance and energy operations benefiting Berkshire's insurance operations have benefited from a quiet hurricane season so far. Higher oil prices are good for its nineteen billion dollar stake in Chevron, which closed Friday at an all-time high after gaining almost… ## Shift from tech to old economy names helps Recently, Berkshire may be getting a boost as investors shift away from high-flying AI and tech stocks and turn to old economy names. ## Coca-Cola position gains two point four billion Berkshire's Coca-Cola position has gained two point four billion dollars since last Friday, overtaking Alphabet to become the third largest stake in its portfolio. Coca-Cola is up thirty-four percent year-to-date. ## Bending Spoons bet is atypical but paying off Berkshire Hathaway's surprising bet of close to one billion dollars on Bending Spoons is paying off big, at least in the short term. ## Berkshire invests further three hundred thirty million Before Wall Street's open Wednesday morning, Bending Spoons revealed Berkshire is investing a further three hundred thirty million dollars by purchasing ten million newly issued shares at thirty-three dollars per share in a private placement. > further ## Bending Spoons shares surge forty-one percent The news sent Bending Spoons shares even higher. They hit an intraday high of fifty-eight dollars and fifty-six cents before closing up forty-one percent at fifty-three dollars and forty-six cents on Wednesday. ## Berkshire's total stake now worth one point four billion Bending Spoons shares are up twenty-four point three percent over three trading days since the revelation. ## Analysts see move as positive for long-term investors Morningstar's Greggory Warren writes the Bending Spoons buy, along with Berkshire's now thirty-six billion dollar stake in Alphabet, show the firm is finally moving out of its comfort zone to find places to put capital… > the firm is finally moving out of its comfort zone to find places to put capital to work, which should be viewed as a positive for long-term investors ## Key takeaway Berkshire Hathaway shares closed Friday at their highest level since Warren Buffett announced his planned departure as CEO in May twenty twenty-five, recovering from a fourteen percent drop that followed his announcement.