OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway is buying back shares for the first time in nearly two years, and new CEO Greg Abel said he has no immediate plans to sell Kraft Heinz shares now that the packaged-foods giant plans to split it in two.
Abel appeared on CNBC on Thursday — less than a week after issuing his first letter to shareholders since taking over the top job at Berkshire from legendary investor Warren Buffett in January. Berkshire also took the unusual step of filing a formal notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had begun repurchasing its shares Wednesday for the first time since May 2024.
When Kraft first announced plans to split the company two last fall, Abel and Buffett expressed concern about it because of the costs involved and the current struggles for some brands. So Abel said he agrees with new Kraft CEO Steve Cahlin’s decision to shut down the division.
“For Steve to come in and say let’s stop it, there are opportunities at Kraft Heinz to fix things and get the business back on track and then evaluate those things. We thought that was absolutely the right way to go,” Abel said.
Berkshire had long been Kraft’s largest shareholder with 325 million shares when Buffett and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital orchestrated the merger of Kraft and Heinz in 2015 because they already owned Heinz and believed in the strength of their brands.
For years Buffett has commented on how Kraft’s competitive edge around its brands was not as strong as he thought and that Berkshire was likely overpaying for the investment. Berkshire even wrote down $3.76 billion on its Kraft-Heinz stake last summer. But there was no indication until January that Berkshire would sell the Kraft shares.
Abel also told CNBC that he felt it was important for Berkshire to let shareholders know that its approach to buybacks had not changed. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate will continue to use $373.3 billion in cash to buy back shares when Abel and Buffett conclude the stock is worth more than what it is selling for. Its Class A shares gained more than 2% to sell for $745,451.75 on Thursday.
Abel also revealed Thursday that this week he used all of his $15.3 million in take-home pay for 2026 to buy Berkshire stock, and he told CNBC that he plans to continue doing so as long as he remains CEO so that his profits are aligned with shareholders.
“As CEO, I obviously believe in Berkshire — with the transition from Warren. And I’m inheriting a company that has an incredible foundation. I believe in — you know, the future, the opportunities,” Abel said.
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