Berkshire Trails S&P by Record Margin After Buffett Exit

- Berkshire Hathaway B shares down significantly, trailing S&P 500 since May 2025 exit - Stock breaks key technical indicator, suffering rare losing streak On July 20, 2025, reports from AInvest, Cryptopolitan, and The Financial Express revealed that Berkshire Hathaway’s B shares had dropped by over 12%. This fall, which occurred after Warren Buffett announced his departure on May 3, 2025, erased most of the year’s earlier gains and left Berkshire Hathaway with a year-to-date return of just 4.5%, falling short of the S&P 500’s 7% increase over the same period. The downturn marks a challenging period for Berkshire’s B shares, as the stock has recorded six negative weeks out of the last seven and is poised for its third consecutive losing month. The company has not experienced such a streak since June 2022, and investors are particularly concerned because the shares have now fallen below their 200-day moving average. The stock had not breached this level in 573 trading days, a break that ends the longest stretch above this key technical indicator since the B shares’ inception in 1996 and underlines its historical significance. This performance aligns with the tempered expectations Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett described in his 2023 shareholder letter. He projected that future results would be “a bit better than the average American corporation” and cautioned that hopes for consistently outsized returns were “wishful thinking,” candidly acknowledging that the company’s performance was unlikely to mirror its past success. The company’s immense size and vast holdings across many industries make it difficult to replicate its past stellar growth, during which Berkshire historically outperformed the S&P 500 by wide margins. While Berkshire Hathaway benefits from stable income sources, such as its long-term Coca-Cola investment that earns the company $816 million annually, this has not been enough to quell concerns about future growth. Although this dependable revenue stream generates $2.24 million daily, or $93,150 hourly, in passive income, it does little to overshadow broader investor sentiment. Investors remain fixated on the company’s limited growth trajectory compared to its historic performance. As a result, the sharp stock decline and subdued outlook leave investors grappling with the company's future, questioning what Buffett’s exit will mean as Berkshire transitions into a new era.