Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares surged past the S&P 500 index, outperforming the benchmark by 5.8 percentage points year to date after three consecutive record-high closes, as investors moved money away from slumping tech stocks into the traditional conglomerate, CNBC reported.
The stock market suffered its worst week since April 2025, dragged down by a Thursday sell-off in artificial intelligence shares 24/7, Wall St. noted.
While the S&P 500 index fund dropped 2.7% over the week, Berkshire’s Class B shares rose 5.2% and established a record closing high on Wednesday 24/7, Wall St. reported.
One month prior, Berkshire shares were trailing the S&P 500 by 13.6 percentage points, CNBC reported.
By Friday, Class A shares closed at $836,445.13 and Class B shares finished at $577.07, up almost 11% over the past month, Tokenpost reported.
Artificial Intelligence Spending Fears Drive Capital Flows
Investors pulled capital from falling technology stocks out of concern that massive corporate spending on data centers may not generate adequate returns, CNBC reported.
Market participants favored Berkshire’s diversified businesses—including insurance, rail, utilities, and manufacturing—which generate profits independently of artificial intelligence spending, FXLeaders reported.
Bloomberg highlighted risks in the conglomerate’s technology exposure, noting that with cracks in the AI trade starting to show, Berkshire’s sudden push [into AI] may appear ill-timed,
as CNBC reported.
Berkshire’s stake in Alphabet had a market value of $37.8 billion as of June 30, ranking as its third-largest equity holding, Ua reported.
Following a roughly 20% drop in Alphabet’s Class A and Class C shares, the stake fell in value to $30.2 billion, dropping behind Coca-Cola’s $38.3 billion position CNBC reported and Ua reported.
Writing at Barron’s, Andrew Bary estimated a $3 billion loss on Alphabet. This loss formed part of a disappointing long-term stock-picking trend, pointing out that the company has not created much value from stock selection during the current decade while tech stocks quadrupled, CNBC reported.
Bary also noted that Apple shares have continued climbing. Berkshire cut its stake by 75% since 2023 at an average selling price around $200, well below Apple’s current price of $342, though Apple remains Berkshire’s largest equity holding at $78 billion, CNBC reported.
Greg Abel Deploys Berkshire Cash Pile for Strategic Investments
Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO at the start of 2026 to become chairman, leaving Greg Abel to run the company 24/7, Wall St. reported.
Berkshire held $364.7 billion in cash, down from $380.2 billion, maintaining a massive liquidity cushion that allows for strategic investments and share buybacks, FXLeaders reported.
The company more than doubled its share repurchases in the previous quarter to $9.6 billion, while operating earnings declined slightly, CNBC reported.
Abel has begun deploying the cash pile, including an investment in Bending Spoons on October 20 that increased Berkshire’s stake to 4% and brought total commitments to a higher level, FXLeaders reported.
Bending Spoons acquires and restructures established digital brands such as AOL and Vimeo FXLeaders reported.
Berkshire disclosed a $27 million addition to its Sirius XM position, purchasing over 924,000 shares at an average price of $29.10, Ua reported.
Sirius XM shares subsequently reached a 52-week intraday high of $33.76, CNBC reported.
Pacific Power Requests Massive Residential Rate Increase
Pacific Power, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary PacifiCorp, asked California regulators for a 57% rate increase that would raise typical residential electric bills by $120 a month, CNBC reported.
The Wall Street Journal characterized the proposal as a stunning request even in an era of rising electricity costs,
as CNBC reported.
Class B Shares Trade Above Valuation Estimates
GuruFocus data indicated that Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares closed at $579.09, trading above its GF Value estimate of $488.84 and earning a label indicating an overvaluation of approximately 18.5%, GuruFocus reported.
The stock’s price-to-earnings ratio stood at 14.6x, representing a 15% premium over its five-year median of 12.7x, GuruFocus reported.
The company registered an overall GF Score of 75 out of 100, denoting an above-average rating driven by a top momentum rank of 10 out of 10, though offset by a weaker growth rank of 2 out of 10, GuruFocus reported.
Insiders purchased $0.5 million worth of shares over the preceding 12 months with no recorded selling activity, indicating internal confidence at current price levels despite valuation warnings, GuruFocus reported.
Will the technology sell-off continue to drive fund flows into defensive conglomerates, or will Greg Abel face further losses on Alphabet and Apple shares?
Earlier coverage: Stocks Plunge as Election Results Fuel AI Regulation Fears and Tech Sell-Off
