Core Insights - Warren Buffett announced his plan to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year, which surprised shareholders [1] - Berkshire Hathaway's B shares outperformed the S&P 500 by 22.4 percentage points in early May 2025, but have since fallen behind [1][2] Stock Performance - Following Buffett's announcement, Berkshire's B shares dropped 14.9% to a closing low of $459.11 on August 4, 2025, but have since rebounded by 9.9% to close at $504.34, resulting in an 11.3% year-to-date increase [2] - The S&P 500 has surged 37.9% since its closing low of 4982.77 on April 8, 2025, and is up 16.8% year-to-date, indicating a significant outperformance compared to Berkshire [2][3] Comparison with S&P 500 - With 17 trading days remaining in 2025, Berkshire's B shares are trailing the S&P 500 by 5.5 percentage points, having previously been down 12.2 percentage points on October 29 [3] - Including dividends, the S&P 500's total year-to-date gain is 18.2%, which is almost 7 percentage points ahead of Berkshire's performance [4] Philanthropic Efforts - Melinda French Gates highlighted that The Giving Pledge, initiated in 2010, still has work to do in achieving its goal of changing expectations around wealth distribution [5][6] - Over 250 wealthy philanthropists have committed to giving the majority of their wealth to charitable causes, but challenges remain in ensuring that these commitments translate into actual donations [5][6][8]
Berkshire Hathaway is on track to lag behind the S&P 500 in Buffett's last year as CEO