Greg Abel Is Taking Over for Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway. Here's What You Need to Know.
Key Points
The market took this news well, celebrating Berkshire Hathaway's update over the weekend.
Warren Buffett had already appointed Abel to be the next CEO of Berkshire Hathaway back in 2021.
Charlie Munger once offered his thoughts on how Berkshire Hathaway could look without Buffett.
10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway ›
Warren Buffett first shared that Greg Abel would take over as CEO in 2021, but no one was quite prepared to hear him officially pass the baton last weekend at the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) annual meeting.
It's hard to imagine the company without the investing legend at its helm, but at 94 years old, Buffett is ready to hand over the reins. The board has approved Abel to take over as CEO by the end of the year.
Abel is Buffett's right-hand man
Abel has been a part of Berkshire Hathaway since it bought about 80% of MidAmerican Energy, where he was president, in 1999. Buffett first mentioned him by name in the 2002 annual shareholders' letter, calling him a "dealmaker" and a "manager" and saying he was a "huge asset for Berkshire Hathaway."
He continued to call Abel and his business partner Dave Sokol "brilliant managers of the business," and year after year, he said they were "terrific managers" and that "Berkshire couldn't have better partners. "
Image source: The Motley Fool.
In 2014, the 50th anniversary of Buffett's tenure at Berkshire Hathaway, vice chairman and Buffett's partner Charlie Munger gave his thoughts about the company. One of the tasks he gave himself was to "predict whether abnormally good results would continue at Berkshire if Buffett were soon to depart." His short answer was "Yes," for a number of reasons:
Under this Buffett-soon-leaves assumption, his successors would not be 'of only moderate ability.' For instance, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel are proven performers who would probably be under-described as 'world-class.' 'World-leading' would be the description I would choose. In some important ways, each is a better business executive than Buffett.
Both Abel and Jain were elected as directors and vice chairmen at Berkshire in 2018, with Jain responsible for the insurance business and Abel responsible for the non-insurance businesses, or everything else. In 2021, Buffett made the announcement that Abel was next in line, and by 2023, he said that Abel "in all respects, is ready to be CEO of Berkshire tomorrow."
Perhaps investors should have seen this move coming. In the 2024 annual shareholder letter, released in February, Buffett said: "At 94, it won't be long before Greg Abel replaces me as CEO and will be writing the annual letters."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hims & Hers Stock Is Soaring Again. But Should You Buy the Stock?
Hims & Hers stock is on the upswing after the company secured a weight-loss drug partnership. Hims & Hers is acquiring its way into Europe and wants to build more personalized drugs for its telehealth customers. Shares have soared, but still have a ton of potential for patient long-term shareholders. 10 stocks we like better than Hims & Hers Health › Many companies have failed to disrupt the complicated U.S. healthcare market. Hims & Hers (NYSE: HIMS) may finally be succeeding in cracking the code. The online telehealth platform focuses on circumventing the insurance market; its business of selling affordable medications directly to individuals is growing like a weed, and expects to generate $6.5 billion in revenue by 2030. It has had a tumultuous start to 2025, as Hims & Hers waged a battle to sell new weight loss medications on its online marketplace. Now, with momentum back on its side, the stock is up 118% year to date and 446% in the last five years. Let's take a deeper look at this company, and see whether you might want to buy Hims & Hers stock for your portfolio now. Hims & Hers' model is simple. It has two separate web platforms -- Hims for men and Hers for women -- that sell medications and deliver to customers' front doors. It began with sexual health, but has moved into dermatology, hair loss, mental health, and now weight loss medications. A key to its success has been avoiding the insurance market with products that don't break the bank. Customers loathe dealing with health insurers in the United States, and sometimes would rather not use insurance at all. Plus, some of these products aren't covered by insurance. This strategy has helped the company close in on over $2 billion in projected revenue in 2025. To keep up this impressive growth, Hims & Hers wants to offer weight loss medications, which have been a blockbuster set of drugs for the pharmaceutical market. For a while the popularity of these drugs, such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, left them in short supply; that allowed third parties such as Hims & Hers to produce them as a compounding pharmacy and sell them at much cheaper prices. This ended up generating $200 million of Hims & Hers' $1.4 billion in 2024 revenue. But with the shortage of Wegovy over and the compounding pharmacy exception ended, the company's weight-loss business was at a major turning point. Luckily, at the end of April Hims & Hers announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk that seems to resolve this issue: It gives Hims & Hers the ability to sell Wegovy directly on its platform. Hims & Hers is not an exclusive supplier of the drug -- or any drugs on its marketplaces, to be fair -- but it hopes to use its subscription business model, marketing expertise, and simplified user proposition to drive sales for Novo Nordisk in the huge obesity-care market. Besides weight loss drugs, Hims & Hers has more ambitions to reach its goal of $6.5 billion in revenue by 2030. Just recently, the company announced its intent to acquire European competitor Zava so it could expand its telehealth service to Europe. The acquisition will add a platform with 1.3 million active customers in the U.K., Germany, France, and Ireland. It makes sense that Hims & Hers can supercharge growth for the platform with its plethora of medications offered to customers, keen marketing skills, and subscription-based selling model. Over the long run, Hims & Hers aims to make healthcare for its customers more personalized. This includes unique drug combinations, its own outsourcing facility, and at-home testing capabilities. Details remain sparse, but the vision is clear: disrupting more and more of the trillions of dollars spent on healthcare by building a business that people actually enjoy interacting with. This is why 2.4 million active customers use Hims & Hers today. A revenue goal of $6.5 billion seems well within reach by 2030. Hims & Hers is only at 2.4 million active customers, and there are tens of millions of people in the United States alone who could start using or switch to one of its telehealth platforms. Add on the Zava acquisition in Europe, and the runway for growth gets even larger. The company has an impressive gross profit margin of 77%, which should lead to high levels of profitability at scale. On $6.5 billion in future revenue, it could very well post a net profit margin of over 20%, and achieve $1.5 billion in bottom-line profits and free cash flow. A 20% profit margin is easily achievable because of its high gross margins and the fact it currently spends 40% of revenue on marketing today, a figure that has come down over time and should come down even more as Hims & Hers keeps scaling. However, Hims & Hers has played fast and loose with laws and regulations in the past. It sold weight loss drugs when the legality of doing so was unclear, and although that dispute seems to have been resolved, management could easily start playing with fire again and burn its reputation as a trusted provider of medications. Otherwise, this looks like a fantastic growth stock that just doubled its addressable market with the Zava acquisition. Today, Hims & Hers has a market cap of $12.3 billion. You might think it's overvalued because of the stock's recent run-up in price, but the numbers show that patient investors could be rewarded by holding for the long term. A $12.3 billion market cap is only around 8 times my 2030 earnings estimate of $1.5 billion, which would be a dirt cheap price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for a fast-growing company compared to the current market cap. Most likely, the stock will be valued at a higher multiple than 8, meaning that the stock will be higher in five years. It doesn't come without risks, but if you're a growth investor, you might love Hims & Hers stock for its long-term potential. Before you buy stock in Hims & Hers Health, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Hims & Hers Health wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hims & Hers Health. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Hims & Hers Stock Is Soaring Again. But Should You Buy the Stock? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Down 21%, Should You Buy the Dip on Apple Stock? The Answer Might Surprise You.
It's the combination of products and services that has made Apple one of the best businesses on Earth. Ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tariff situation adds to investor concerns. At the current valuation, Apple stock provides zero margin of safety. 10 stocks we like better than Apple › Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares are down 18% in 2025 (as of June 6). This makes Apple the worst-performing "Magnificent Seven" constituent this year, besides Tesla. Investors are probably concerned about tariff uncertainty and the company's slow progress with artificial intelligence (AI). The stock is currently 21% below its peak. So, it has some work to do to get back to its former glory. Legendary investor Warren Buffett and his conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, have sold a sizable chunk of their shares in the past several quarters. However, should you go against the Oracle of Omaha's moves and buy the dip on Apple stock? I think the answer might surprise you. I mention Buffett because many individual investors like to follow his buy and sell decisions. Clearly, when Berkshire first bought Apple in early 2016, they must've thought the tech giant was a high-quality enterprise. It's not hard to see why. Apple's brand is arguably the most recognizable in the world. This position wasn't created overnight. It took years and years of introducing truly exceptional products and services, that were well designed and incredibly easy to use, on a global scale. Apple is an icon, to say the least. That brand has helped drive Apple's pricing power. And this supports the company's unrivaled financial position. Apple remains an unbelievably profitable business. It brought in $24.8 billion in net income in the latest fiscal quarter (Q2 2025 ended March 29). Apple's products and services are impressive on their own. However, it's the combination of both of these aspects that creates the powerful ecosystem. Consumers are essentially locked in, which creates high barriers for them to switch to competing products. This favorable setup places Apple in an enviable position from a competitive perspective. Despite Apple's market cap of nearly $3.1 trillion, which might make some investors believe it's immune to external challenges, this business is dealing with some notable issues recently. There are three that immediately come to mind. The first problem is that Apple's growth engine seems to be decaying. Net sales were up less than 7% between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2024. And they're up just over 4% through the first six months of fiscal 2025. According to management, there are likely over 2.4 billion active Apple devices across the globe. That number continues to rise with every passing quarter, but you get an idea of how ubiquitous these products are. Plus, the maturity of the iPhone, now almost two decades into its lifecycle, might lead to limited opportunities to further penetrate markets. Critics can also call out Apple's slow entrance into the AI race. For example, we won't see an AI update to Siri until next year, a launch that was delayed. At the same time, it seems like other companies are moving rapidly to win the AI race. Lastly, Apple has been and could continue to be drastically impacted by the tariff situation. China, which has gotten the most attention from President Donald Trump during the ongoing trade tensions, has been a manufacturing powerhouse for Apple. The business is being forced to shift its supply chain around to minimize the impact. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the situation makes it challenging to forecast near-term results. Even though this stock trades 21% off its peak, investors aren't really getting a bargain deal here. The price-to-earnings ratio is 32 right now. That's not cheap for a company whose earnings per share are only expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8.8% between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2027. In my view, there's zero margin of safety. If you're an investor who wants to generate market-beating returns over the next five years, I don't think you should buy Apple today. Before you buy stock in Apple, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Apple wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Down 21%, Should You Buy the Dip on Apple Stock? The Answer Might Surprise You. was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
1 Top Dow Dividend Stock to Buy for Passive Income in June
Verizon has a dividend yield of more than 6%, triple the average Dow stock. The telecom company produces lots of cash to cover its dividend and invest in growing its business. It has a strong balance sheet, giving it ample financial flexibility to fund its dividend and growth. 10 stocks we like better than Verizon Communications › The Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks 30 large, publicly traded blue chip stocks. These companies are some of the strongest and most well-known in the country. They tend to be lower-risk companies, most of which pay dividends. Because of that, Dow stocks can be a great choice for those seeking reliable dividend income. Of the 30 Dow stocks, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) stands out for its high dividend yield. At over 6%, it's more than triple the average dividend yield of Dow stocks (less than 2%). That makes the telecom giant an ideal dividend stock to buy for passive income this month. A high dividend yield can sometimes suggest that a company has a higher risk profile. However, that's not the case with Verizon. The telecom giant produces prodigious cash flows and boasts a rock-solid financial profile. Last year, Verizon generated $36.9 billion in cash flow from operations. It invested $17.1 billion into capital projects to maintain and expand its 5G and fiber networks. That left Verizon with $19.8 billion in free cash flow, which easily covered the company's $11.2 billion in dividend payments to shareholders. The remaining excess free cash flow enabled the telecom giant to strengthen its already solid balance sheet. Its leverage ratio fell from 2.6 times at the end of 2023 to 2.3 times at the end of last year. That's a solid leverage ratio for a company that generates stable cash flow. It backs the company's strong A-/BBB+/Baa1 bond ratings. Verizon's long-term goal is to have an even lower leverage ratio in the range of 1.75x to 2.0x, putting it on an even stronger financial foundation. Verizon's robust cash flows and strong financial profile have enabled the company to steadily increase its dividend. Last September, the company delivered its 18th consecutive annual dividend increase, raising its payment by around 2%. That's the longest current streak in the U.S. telecom sector. The company should be able to continue increasing its dividend in the future. It's investing heavily in 5G and fiber to provide faster wireless and broadband services to customers. That strategy is driving the company's financial growth this year. Its wireless services revenue rose 2.7% in the first quarter to an industry-leading $20.8 billion. Meanwhile, its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 4% to $12.6 billion, the highest in the company's history. Verizon also produced $3.6 billion in free cash flow after capital expenses in the first quarter, a 34% jump compared to the year-ago period. Verizon has budgeted between $17.5 billion and $18.5 billion for capital expenditures this year to maintain and expand its network. That will leave it with $17.5 billion to $18.5 billion in free cash flow, more than enough to cover its dividend and continue strengthening its balance sheet. The company is using some of its financial flexibility to acquire Frontier Communications in a $20 billion all-cash deal that it hopes to close early next year. The acquisition will significantly expand its fiber network while generating at least $500 million in annual cost savings. Verizon will use its growing excess free cash flow to repay the debt it will take on to close that deal. It should return to its current level within two years of closing the acquisition. That would free up additional cash that Verizon could use to repurchase stock. The growing free cash flow from its capital investments and the Frontier deal should enable Verizon to continue to steadily increase its high-yielding dividend. Verizon is a rare high-yielding blue chip dividend stock. It provides investors with a bond-like income stream with some upside potential from a rising dividend and the possibility of an increasing stock price. These features make it an ideal option for those seeking a bankable income stream backed by a top Dow stock. Before you buy stock in Verizon Communications, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Verizon Communications wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Matt DiLallo has positions in Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Top Dow Dividend Stock to Buy for Passive Income in June was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
