Shareholders and analysts largely gave Greg Abel high marks for his first annual shareholder letter as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway , praising his clear commitment to preserving the company's long-standing values and operating philosophy while addressing lingering questions about capital allocation in the post-Buffett era. Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO at the start of 2026, us...
Shareholders and analysts largely gave Greg Abel high marks for his first annual shareholder letter as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway , praising his clear commitment to preserving the company's long-standing values and operating philosophy while addressing lingering questions about capital allocation in the post-Buffett era. Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO at the start of 2026, used the letter to outline a clear framework of foundational values centered on financial strength and disciplined investing. For now, many investors appear satisfied that Abel has preserved the blueprint Buffett carefully orchestrated over six decades. "I think it was important that he emphasized that Warren may not be leading Berkshire, but Berkshire as an entity continues along the same path with the same values," said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research. "And I think in that regard, he nailed it. I give the letter an A, because I think he did what he needed to do. It was deferential, but also gave enough specifics [on] a number of the unanswered questions that have been circling around." Big questions answered Among those questions was who would ultimately oversee Berkshire's stock portfolio, an issue Abel addressed directly by stating that responsibility resides with him as CEO. Shareholders also received clarity on whether the new CEO would alter Berkshire's long-standing stance on dividends and share repurchases. Abel reaffirmed that the conglomerate has no plans to initiate a dividend, reiterating the policy that Berkshire will not pay one so long as each dollar of retained earnings is likely to create more than a dollar of market value. On buybacks, Abel signaled continuity as well, saying repurchases remain a capital allocation tool but only when Berkshire shares trade below intrinsic value and without compromising liquidity. "I thought that was an exceptional letter. Laid out the framework for how he will move Berkshire forward while acknowledging some areas...
Nikada/iStock via Getty Images Artificial intelligence doesn’t run on software alone. It depends on semiconductors, energy, and critical materials. Explore the ETFs providing exposure to the AI buildout. What Actually Powers AI? It’s easy to think of AI as a purely digital phenomenon built on code and data floating in the cloud. But every model runs on physical hardware, consumes real electricity,...
Nikada/iStock via Getty Images Artificial intelligence doesn’t run on software alone. It depends on semiconductors, energy, and critical materials. Explore the ETFs providing exposure to the AI buildout. What Actually Powers AI? It’s easy to think of AI as a purely digital phenomenon built on code and data floating in the cloud. But every model runs on physical hardware, consumes real electricity, and depends on materials that are pulled from the ground. Training a frontier model like GPT-4 reportedly consumed around 50 gigawatt-hours of energy, which is enough to power San Francisco for three days. 1 And that’s just the training phase. Inference, which is the process of actually serving AI to hundreds of millions of users, demands even more sustained power over time. All of that computation flows through three critical layers: Semiconductors that do the math. Energy that keeps the data centers running around the clock. Strategic metals embedded in the hardware itself. When any of those layers hits a bottleneck like a chip shortage, a power constraint, or an export ban on critical minerals, it affects every corner of the AI economy. How Can You Invest in the AI Supply Chain? Rather than chasing the handful of software names that dominate AI headlines, investors can target the physical infrastructure that every one of those companies depends on. VanEck offers three ETFs, each mapped to a distinct layer of the AI supply chain. ETF Role in AI Supply Chain Why It Matters for AI Why Invest SMH The advanced chips: GPUs, AI accelerators, that perform the trillions of calculations behind model training and inference. Hyperscalers are spending hundreds of billions on AI compute. No chips, no AI. Concentrated access to the 25 largest U.S.-listed semiconductor companies. NLR Uranium mining, reactor construction, and nuclear power generation: the 24/7 baseload electricity AI requires. Data center power demand is set to double by 2030. Nuclear is the only scalable zero-carbon op...
I underestimated Japan’s determination to ruffle China’s feathers. In a November 2023 column, I argued that the apparently cordial meeting between President Xi Jinping and then US president Joe Biden in the US unsettled Japan, which wanted to attain its goal of becoming a “normal country” again. In a column last December, I said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s hardened position against Ch...
I underestimated Japan’s determination to ruffle China’s feathers. In a November 2023 column, I argued that the apparently cordial meeting between President Xi Jinping and then US president Joe Biden in the US unsettled Japan, which wanted to attain its goal of becoming a “normal country” again. In a column last December, I said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s hardened position against China – exemplified by her November 7 speech saying China’s forceful takeover of Taiwan could pose an...
Paper Boat Creative/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction A few days ago, I wrote an article titled “This Is Not A Normal Rotation - It’s A Regime Change.” As most of my regular readers know, it’s a continuation of my recent in-depth coverage of new market drivers. In recent months, we have gone from a tech-driven market to a market that now relies on expectations of a prolonged capital rota...
Paper Boat Creative/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction A few days ago, I wrote an article titled “This Is Not A Normal Rotation - It’s A Regime Change.” As most of my regular readers know, it’s a continuation of my recent in-depth coverage of new market drivers. In recent months, we have gone from a tech-driven market to a market that now relies on expectations of a prolonged capital rotation, fueled by AI disruption and broadening economic growth, among many other factors. What we are doing is highlighting every aspect of the rotation. As easy as that sounds, it’s challenging, as I truly believe we’re in the most complex market environment in decades, as we are dealing with economic growth uncertainty, AI disruption, geopolitical difficulties, and a lot of factors within each of these themes that make it truly hard to assess the risk/reward of the market and many specific investment themes. Just to give you an idea, think about this: Within the span of 2 years, AI went from a bullish-only factor to a two-edged sword that benefits some stocks and creates havoc in areas like software. Trillions in long-term AI CapEx is bullish. However, what if we get close to a situation where CapEx growth is peaking? What will happen to the high-flying CapEx beneficiaries? What if there’s no end in sight to this kind of growth? Will AI deliver the desired results for AI hyperscalers? What if that doesn’t happen? Will tech valuations compress even further? So many questions and not enough answers. That’s why I’m spending so much time on the market and various investment ideas. Today, I’ll try to answer some of the questions above and walk you through what I consider some of the most essential developments on Wall Street that are likely to drive the returns of the next few quarters, if not years. Hence, as we have, once again, a lot on our plate, let’s get right to it! NVDA Is Where a Lot Intel is Hiding in Plain Sight I don’t own NVIDIA ( NVDA ) stock, but I sure care a lot...
Public Investment Corp. , Africa’s largest money manager, and Chief Investment Officer Kabelo Rikhotso have agreed to terminate their employment relationship on an amicable basis, five months after he was suspended following misconduct allegations in a whistleblower report. The firm will continue to seek a final interdict to affirm there was no evidence supporting allegations previously brought ag...
Public Investment Corp. , Africa’s largest money manager, and Chief Investment Officer Kabelo Rikhotso have agreed to terminate their employment relationship on an amicable basis, five months after he was suspended following misconduct allegations in a whistleblower report. The firm will continue to seek a final interdict to affirm there was no evidence supporting allegations previously brought against Rikhotso and Lindiwe Dlamini , its head of investment legal, Pretoria-based PIC said in a statement Sunday. Rikhotso was suspended in October as a precaution to allow for a fair, objective and independent investigation, the South African-owned manager of about 3 trillion rand ($188 billion) in state pension funds said at the time, without detailing the claims. August van Heerden was appointed acting chief investment officer following the suspension.
Iran has officially confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid escalating military strikes and rising global tensions. Bloomberg’s David Gura, Christina Ruffini and Lisa Mateo bring you the latest developments as Iran moves into a 40-day period of national mourning and the region braces for what could be a pivotal moment in Middle East geopolitics (Source: Bloomberg)
Iran has officially confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid escalating military strikes and rising global tensions. Bloomberg’s David Gura, Christina Ruffini and Lisa Mateo bring you the latest developments as Iran moves into a 40-day period of national mourning and the region braces for what could be a pivotal moment in Middle East geopolitics (Source: Bloomberg)
In this article BRK.B BRK.A Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT (This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) Abel: Berkshire's culture and values 'remain unchanged and will continue into perpetuity' In his first letter to Berkshire Hathaway sha...
In this article BRK.B BRK.A Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT (This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) Abel: Berkshire's culture and values 'remain unchanged and will continue into perpetuity' In his first letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders , new CEO Greg Abel didn't try to emulate Warren Buffett's folksy, conversational writing style. He did, however, emphasize he won't be making major changes to the way the company has operated for decades under Buffett's leadership. At the top of his letter, Abel called Buffett "arguably the greatest investor of all time," and acknowledged that "Warren is obviously a very hard act to follow." Berkshire Vice Chairman Greg Abel speaks with shareholders during the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. annual shareholders' meeting, in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 2, 2025. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Abel wrote that last month, he "sent a letter to our employees to emphasize that Berkshire's cultures and values remain unchanged and will continue into perpetuity." "We are committed to strengthening the great legacy" built by Buffett and Charlie Munger, "ensuring it endures through our commitment to excellence." Abel said Munger's comment at the 2021 annual meeting that " Greg will keep the culture " will "forever resonate with me" as a "reminder that our culture is our most treasured asset, a call to maintain what defines Berkshire, and a challenge to ensure our culture continues." No change on buybacks or dividends Any investors hoping Abel would be more specific about criteria for buybacks didn't get satisfaction. His sentence on the subject could have been written by Buffett himself: "We will buy back Berkshire shares when they trade below our estimate of intrinsic value, conservatively determined, ensuring that repurchases enhance per-share value for continuing owners." There were n...
BYD Co. reported a 41% drop in vehicle sales for February from a year earlier, after a record-long Lunar New Year holiday brought production and retail activity in China to a near standstill for much of the month. The world’s largest electric-car maker sold 190,190 vehicles last month, including both plug-in hybrids and pure-battery models, it said in a statement Sunday. That included 187,782 pass...
BYD Co. reported a 41% drop in vehicle sales for February from a year earlier, after a record-long Lunar New Year holiday brought production and retail activity in China to a near standstill for much of the month. The world’s largest electric-car maker sold 190,190 vehicles last month, including both plug-in hybrids and pure-battery models, it said in a statement Sunday. That included 187,782 passenger vehicles, which represent the bulk of the Chinese company’s volume. Sales for February dropped 9.5% from the previous month. Exports of new energy vehicle reached 100,600 units. Sales for the first two months of the year fell 36% to 400,241 units, with BYD’s domestic performance sputtering amid a tapering of recent stimulus policies and intensified competition. Because the Lunar New Year holiday timing shifts annually and creates significant volatility in monthly production and demand, combining January and February allows for a clearer comparison against the year-earlier period. A reduction in purchase tax exemptions and the cooling of consumer confidence are weighing on demand, with buyers waiting for new model releases and further clarity on government trade-in initiatives before committing to purchases. Read More: Chinese Consumers Are More Thrifty Than Before Trump’s Trade War Shenzhen-based BYD’s focus remains on balancing inventory levels at dealerships while maintaining the aggressive pricing that has helped it defend its market share throughout the past year. With the weakness at home, BYD’s international expansion has helped it sustain volume growth. Key markets across Latin America and Europe are now central to the company’s strategy. Investors are set to look at BYD’s performance for March, traditionally a high-volume month, for signs of a rebound as demand typically picks up following the holidays. And with the Beijing Auto Show approaching in late April, BYD is under pressure to roll out new models to stimulate domestic sales.