Witness the miracle! The stock market legend Warren Buffett has "submitted his paper": 60 years, returns exceeding 60,000 times! After retirement, he didn't "lie flat," working 5 days a week.

【Introduction】Warren Buffett’s Performance Record: Over 60 years of leading Berkshire Hathaway, generating a total return of 60,992,940%

On February 28th, Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s flagship company, released its 2025 annual report on its official website. Data shows that as of the end of 2025, Berkshire Hathaway held $373.311 billion in cash (including cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasuries), a decrease from the third quarter of 2025 but still a record high for the year, surpassing the previous year-end cash total of $334.201 billion in 2024.

In 2025, Berkshire Hathaway’s net profit was $67.26 billion, significantly down from $89.561 billion in 2024, mainly due to lower investment income. Like Buffett, new CEO Greg Abel reminded investors that annual data has limited reference value.

Buffett announced his retirement from the CEO position of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, making this his final annual report before stepping down. This year’s letter to shareholders was written for the first time by Greg Abel, marking the official beginning of the Abel era at Berkshire Hathaway.

Over more than 60 years of leading Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has created a total return of 60,992,940% for investors.

Buffett Works Five Days a Week

After retiring, Buffett has not “laid back.”

“Warren, as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, works in the office five days a week. He helps us with insurance underwriting, managing non-insurance businesses, and deploying capital (including equity investments). Warren remains a shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway (although his shares will be donated to charity over approximately the next ten years after his passing).” Greg Abel wrote in his letter to shareholders.

Regarding his connection to Berkshire Hathaway, Abel wrote, “My understanding of Berkshire began in 1992 when I moved to Omaha to join CalEnergy. At that time, the company was unrelated to Berkshire Hathaway. Peter Kiewit’s company owned part of CalEnergy, and Walter Scott II was chairman; he was also a director of Berkshire Hathaway.”

However, because he worked at CalEnergy, Abel lived in Omaha. He believed this city represented a form of capitalism rooted in fundamentals and driven by values, based in industries like insurance, construction, railroads, manufacturing, and energy. After Berkshire acquired CalEnergy, Abel met Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. Fate turned, and Abel eventually became CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

“I admire Buffett and Munger for building a company based on their convictions. These beliefs shape Berkshire’s culture and values, which guide the company through market cycles. The company’s resilience comes from knowing who we are and how we operate,” Abel further stated.

Maintaining Core Values: Minimizing Bureaucracy

Regarding the company’s values, Abel first explained that Berkshire Hathaway seeks the best managers to run its businesses, leading talented teams. Management is flat and autonomous, based on trust. Bureaucracy is minimized to give managers independence, allowing them to focus on their businesses. This autonomy attracts extraordinary talent to Berkshire.

Second, he added, a strong balance sheet ensures Berkshire’s foundation remains intact. Berkshire Hathaway adheres to disciplined, cautious debt management to maintain financial strength. Ample liquidity enables the company to meet obligations under adverse conditions and respond quickly when opportunities arise. With over $370 billion in cash, some of this capital supports insurance operations and protects Berkshire from extreme scenarios, but it also constitutes deployable capital.

Third, he mentioned Berkshire’s capital allocation principles:

• Invest in businesses we understand well, with durable advantages and long-term economic prospects;
• Partner with honest leaders who understand their customers and work for all stakeholders, not just professional managers;
• Avoid businesses that could damage social structures or harm Berkshire’s reputation;
• Act swiftly and concentrate capital in a few high-conviction ideas;
• Maintain discipline to let compounding work.

Upholding a Highly Concentrated Equity Style

Most of Berkshire’s investment portfolio is concentrated in a few U.S. companies, such as Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody’s. Berkshire thoroughly understands these companies’ businesses, highly values their leadership, and expects them to grow steadily over the coming decades. This concentrated approach remains unchanged. In 2025, Berkshire made few moves in these stocks.

By year-end, Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings in four U.S. companies totaled $158.617 billion.

Berkshire also held significant positions in five Japanese companies. As of the end of 2025, the value of these holdings was $35.368 billion. Berkshire also borrowed in Japan, issuing debt roughly equivalent to the Japanese yen investments, with an average cost of 1.2% and a weighted average maturity of about 5.75 years.

Combining these U.S. and Japanese stocks, their total market value at year-end was $194 billion, about two-thirds of Berkshire Hathaway’s total equity securities portfolio of $297.8 billion. In 2025, these stocks paid $2.5 billion in dividends, yielding 10% relative to their original cost of $24.5 billion.

Abel acknowledged some investments have been disappointing: “Our investment in Kraft Heinz has been disappointing. Even considering our original preferred equity stake in Heinz, our returns are well below our expectations.”

Over the long term, Berkshire Hathaway’s annual performance has been outstanding. From 1965 to 2025, a span of 60 years, its compound annual growth rate was 19.7%, compared to the S&P 500’s total return (including dividends) of 10.5%. This is Buffett’s performance record.

Still Not Repurchasing Shares

Berkshire Hathaway remains a stable force in the U.S. capital markets. Nonetheless, challenges exist. In Q4 2025, Buffett’s final quarter as CEO, Berkshire Hathaway’s operating profit declined nearly 30%, mainly due to a sharp drop in insurance underwriting income. The company issued a warning that the insurance business may face future challenges due to intense competition and rising claims costs.

Berkshire Hathaway has not repurchased shares for six consecutive quarters. In May 2025, after Warren Buffett announced he would step down as CEO at year-end, the stock fell 6.5%, yet the company did not buy back shares.

Abel said the company will consider share repurchases only after consulting Buffett, when he believes the stock price is below intrinsic value. He also stated that Berkshire will continue not to pay dividends because “retaining every dollar of earnings is likely to create more than one dollar of market value for shareholders.” The board reviews the shareholder return policy annually.

Editor: Xu Wen