Berkshire Hathaway is moving like it forgot how to compete while the market is flying. Cryptopolitan reported on Friday that the S&P 500 closed above 7,100 for the first time, pushed by rising confidence that the U.S. and Iran are getting closer to ending their conflict.

Wall Street’s alpha index is already up more than 9% this month after hitting its lowest level of the year in late March, when it was close to a 10% drop.

That bounce did not take long before it turned into one of the fastest recoveries seen in at least 36 years. But while everything else pushed higher, Berkshire Hathaway just sat there doing almost nothing. Both share classes slipped, posting month-to-date losses just under 1%.

Now just a day before, Berkshire B shares were actually still ahead of the index by 1.8%, the widest lead seen this year. By Friday, that flipped hard. The same stock closed 9.7% behind the index, the biggest gap recorded so far in 2026.

Berkshire Hathaway stock lags hard as market surges and loses ground fast

This underperformance has been building since May 2, 2025, when the stock hit a record high just before Warren Buffett confirmed he would step down as CEO by the end of that year. Since that moment, both A and B shares have dropped more than 12%.

Prices now sit only about 3% above their early August lows, which shows how little recovery has happened compared to the broader market.

The company’s annual shareholder meeting is just two weeks away, which Cryptopolitan will cover live as usual. At the same time, a new book titled “The Complete Financial History of Berkshire Hathaway, Second Edition” is set for release on April 28 through Harriman House under Pan Macmillan.

The book will reportedly cover six decades of company activity and includes updates through 2024.

Greg Abel changes leadership structure and tightens control across operations

Leadership change is now front and center. In December, just days before taking control, Greg Abel faced employees during a weekly lunch session. One question came up directly about moving headquarters out of Omaha, Nebraska. Abel shut it down fast and said there would be no relocation. That kind of question would not even come up during Warren’s years, but now people expect change.

Abel is already making moves. He raised the profile of executives who worked closely with him before, increased his own salary beyond what Warren took, and said most of that money will go into buying company stock. He also restarted share buybacks after they were paused since 2024. Outside the U.S., he expanded into Japan by taking a stake in an insurance business.

His style is different. He is more involved in day-to-day operations and reviews both company units and stock holdings with tighter control. People close to the company allegedly say he plans to act quickly when expectations are not met, even at senior levels.

In his own words:

“Warren, Charlie and I, we have some differences, just in style and obviously in how we approach things. Our foundational values continue to be what we build our company through.”

His routine shows that hands-on approach. He drives two hours from Des Moines to Omaha several times each week and does not plan to relocate soon, likely staying in Iowa until his son finishes high school. He also travels across multiple states in a single day using a NetJets corporate plane to meet managers directly.

In his February 28 shareholder letter, Abel listed core holdings including Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s. At the same time, he exited positions handled by Todd Combs, who recently moved to JPMorgan Chase. Combs had been one of Warren’s selected investment managers. Abel does not plan to replace him.

The succession itself was not sudden. It had been expected since 2021 when Charlie Munger revealed the plan during the annual meeting. Still, the exact timing stayed unclear through Munger’s death in November 2023 until Warren confirmed on stage last May that he would retire at year-end.

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