Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares are lagging behind the S&P 500 index in 2025, with performance gaps widening as Warren Buffett approaches his final year as CEO. Including dividends, the S&P 500's lead over Berkshire has grown to over 12 percentage points.
- Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares are up 9.4% in 2025, lagging the S&P 500's 22.1% return.
- With dividends, the S&P 500's total return is 23.9%, versus Berkshire's 10.8%.
- The performance gap, inclusive of dividends, stands at 13.1 percentage points.
- Berkshire’s underweight position in tech and AI-driven sectors contributed to the divergence.
- Buffett’s final year as CEO adds strategic significance to the year-end results.
- Market expectations are shifting toward leadership transition and future investment strategy.
As the calendar year 2025 nears its close, Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares have fallen behind the S&P 500 in total return, marking a notable divergence in performance during Warren Buffett’s final year as CEO. Despite Berkshire's long-standing reputation for capital preservation and value investing, its stock has generated a year-to-date return of approximately 9.4%, according to publicly available market data, while the S&P 500 has delivered around 22.1% over the same period, including reinvested dividends. The gap is even more pronounced when accounting for dividends. The S&P 500’s total return, inclusive of dividend reinvestment, stands at 23.9%, compared to Berkshire Hathaway’s 10.8% return on a similar basis. This 13.1-percentage-point difference underscores a shift in market dynamics, where tech-heavy growth stocks and sector rotations have outpaced Berkshire’s traditional holdings in insurance, railroads, and consumer goods. The underperformance raises questions about the transition ahead, as Buffett’s successor—likely a leadership team under Greg Abel and Ajit Jain—will inherit a company with a different investment landscape. While Berkshire continues to report strong underlying earnings, its equity portfolio has seen reduced exposure to high-growth sectors such as artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, which have driven much of the S&P 500’s recent gains. Investors and analysts are closely watching how the company’s strategy evolves post-Buffett. The performance gap may influence long-term sentiment toward the firm’s ability to maintain its historical outperformance, particularly as institutional investors increasingly favor active exposure to disruptive technologies.