If you’re looking at your screen right now wondering why berkshire hathaway stock value today feels a bit... quiet, you aren't alone. It is Sunday, January 18, 2026. The markets are closed, but the conversation around Omaha’s favorite conglomerate is louder than it’s been in decades.
Honestly, the "holding pattern" is the only way to describe it. As of the closing bell this past Friday, January 16, Berkshire Hathaway Class B (BRK.B) shares sat at $493.29. The heavy-hitter Class A (BRK.A) shares? Those will set you back about $740,750 per share.
But the price tag is the least interesting thing happening right now. We are officially eighteen days into the Greg Abel era. Warren Buffett—the man who basically was the American economy for some people—formally retired as CEO on January 1.
People expected a meltdown. It didn't happen.
Instead, the stock is doing what Berkshire does best: sitting there like a massive, profitable fortress. The value today isn't just a ticker symbol; it’s a reflection of a $382 billion cash pile and a company that just finished buying OxyChem for nearly $10 billion.
The $382 Billion Elephant in the Room
Most companies brag about their earnings. Berkshire brags about its "dry powder."
As we move through January 2026, the company is sitting on roughly $382 billion in cash and short-term Treasuries. To put that in perspective, they could theoretically walk out and buy almost 480 of the companies in the S&P 500 with cash from under the mattress.
Why does this matter for the stock value today?
Because the market is currently priced at high valuations. Buffett spent his final year as CEO being a net seller of stocks. He chopped Berkshire's massive Apple position by about 73%. He didn't do it because he hated iPhones. He did it because he’s a value guy who saw a "warning" in the market's high prices.
Today, that cash is earning a risk-free return of over 5% in Treasuries. That’s billions of dollars in interest income hitting the bottom line without Greg Abel having to lift a finger.
Why the "Buffett Premium" Is Fading (and Why That's Good)
For years, analysts talked about the "Buffett Premium." It was the idea that Berkshire stock was worth more simply because Warren was at the helm.
- The Fear: Once he leaves, the stock will crater as people panic-sell.
- The Reality: The transition to Greg Abel has been so slow and telegraphed that the "shock" was priced in years ago.
- The Upside: With the premium gone, the stock is trading closer to its intrinsic value.
Morningstar recently pegged the fair value for Class B shares at around $510. At $493, the stock is actually looking a bit cheap to some. It’s a rare moment where you aren't paying a "celebrity tax" to own a piece of the world’s most famous portfolio.
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What's Actually Driving the Value Right Now?
It’s easy to get distracted by the stock portfolio—Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola—but Berkshire is really an insurance and infrastructure company with a side hustle in stocks.
The real value today is coming from the "Powerhouse Five."
GEICO is pumping out massive underwriting profits again. BNSF Railway remains the literal backbone of American shipping. Then you have Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which just got a boost from the OxyChem deal.
That $9.7 billion acquisition of Occidental’s chemical unit (OxyChem) on January 2 was a statement. It was Greg Abel’s way of saying, "We aren't just sitting on our hands." It adds a massive, cash-generative industrial asset to the pile right when people were worried the company would become stagnant.
Misconceptions About the Post-Buffett Era
One big thing people get wrong? They think Greg Abel is going to start a shopping spree.
Abel was trained by Buffett for decades. He isn't going to start overpaying for tech startups just to prove he's "modern." The Berkshire culture is built into the walls. The managers of the 60+ subsidiary companies—from Duracell to Dairy Queen—operate with total autonomy.
The stock value today reflects a company that is essentially a self-sustaining ecosystem. It doesn't need a "genius" to pick stocks every morning; it needs a disciplined capital allocator to decide where the mountain of cash goes next.
Technicals and Targets
If you're into the charts, the 52-week range has been between $454.60 and $542.07.
Right now, the stock is hovering near its 100-day simple moving average (around $496). It's in a bit of a "wait and see" mode. Investors are looking toward the February filings to see what Buffett did in his final months. There’s a rumor—and it's just a rumor—that he might have made one final "mystery" investment to cap off his 60-year career.
Practical Next Steps for Investors
If you're looking at berkshire hathaway stock value today as a potential entry point, don't look at the daily fluctuations. That’s for day traders, and Berkshire is the ultimate "anti-day-trade" stock.
- Check the Price-to-Book Ratio: Berkshire is historically a "buy" when it trades near 1.2x to 1.3x book value. Currently, it’s sitting in a very reasonable zone.
- Watch the Cash Pile: If that $382 billion starts to drop, it means Abel has found a bargain. That is usually a massive buy signal for the market.
- Don't Fear the Retirement: The leadership transition is a 20-year-old plan finally being executed. It’s a feature, not a bug.
- Class A vs. Class B: Unless you have $740k lying around, Class B is your friend. You get the same economic interest without needing to sell your house.
The smartest move right now is to stop treating Berkshire like a tech stock and start treating it like a high-yield savings account that happens to own a railroad. The value is in the resilience.
Keep an eye on the upcoming Q4 earnings report in February. That’s when we’ll get the first real look at how the "post-Warren" balance sheet is being positioned for the rest of 2026.
Actionable Insight: Evaluate your portfolio's cash weighting. If you are holding Berkshire, you are essentially 40-50% in cash/Treasuries already. Adjust your other holdings to ensure you aren't over-leveraged in a market that even Buffett thought was getting a bit too expensive.