Berkshire’s New CEO Inherits The World’s Most Profitable Waiting Room

Greg Abel stepped into Berkshire’s top job with the rare CEO starter kit that includes higher profits, patient shareholders, and roughly $380 billion waiting for instructions. The conglomerate reported first-quarter operating earnings of $11.35 billion, up from $9.64 billion a year earlier, while net earnings attributable to shareholders rose to $10.1 billion from $4.6 billion. Abel also presided over his first shareholder meeting as chief executive, turning the annual Omaha ritual into a transition test as much as a victory lap. The real question now is whether Abel can preserve the Buffett formula without turning Berkshire into a tribute band.

The quarter’s strongest reassurance came from the fact that Berkshire still looked like Berkshire beneath the CEO change. Insurance underwriting earnings rose to $1.7 billion, BNSF earnings increased to $1.4 billion, and manufacturing, service and retailing earnings climbed to $3.2 billion. Berkshire Hathaway Energy was steadier than spectacular at $1.1 billion, while total revenue rose to $93.7 billion. This was not the kind of quarter that needed much arm-waving or much explaining. At Berkshire, the cash register has always been the main event, no circus required.

The cash register, in classic Berkshire fashion, was backed by a vault. Berkshire ended March with roughly $380 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and Treasury bills, net of unsettled Treasury-bill purchases, while buying back only about $234 million of its own stock during the quarter. That is a tiny nibble for a company with a cash pile large enough to make patience a full-time occupation. The message was vintage Berkshire even if the presenter had changed — if the right deal is not on the table, the money can sit there and earn interest.

For Abel, the challenge is not finding a new Berkshire formula; it is showing investors the old one still works without Buffett running the show. The first meeting had fewer packed seats and noticeably less old-school “Woodstock for Capitalists” magic, but shareholders still praised Abel’s command of Berkshire’s sprawling operations. For now, that may be enough. Berkshire does not need its new CEO to become a folk hero overnight. It needs him to keep the trains running, the insurers disciplined, the cash safe, and the acquisition cannon loaded. Omaha may be a little less quotable now, but the balance sheet still speaks fluent Buffett.

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