Buffett Successor Has Berkshire Hathaway Poised to Beat S&P 500 in 2026: His 3 New Stock Picks Are Helping

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) shares have hit new all-time highs several times this year, including Monday. The new highs come as Greg Abel takes over as CEO from legendary investor Warren Buffett at the start of the year.

Abel made his presence known in the first quarter, with the first 13F filing showing multiple old positions owned by Buffett completely sold. He also took three new positions in the first quarter:

• Alphabet Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG): 27,188,433 shares
• Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL): 57,320,000 shares
• Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M): 7,347,426 shares

Those three positions have fared well for Berkshire Hathaway, though Alphabet recently took a hit after earnings trimmed some of the gains.

Q1 Ending Price vs. Current Share Price

• GOOG: $286.86, now $278.04
• DAL: $66.48, now $83.42
• M: $18.09, now $24.33

All three of the stocks have performed better from the end of the first quarter through now than their year-to-date gains. While it’s not known exactly when Abel bought shares or what price he paid, buying the stocks in the first quarter instead of at the start of the year may have provided better entry points based on current returns.

YTD and Returns Since End of Q1

• GOOG: YTD -11.8%, Since Q1 -3.1%
• DAL: YTD +20.8%, Since Q1 +25.5%
• M: YTD +10.3%, Since Q1 +34.5%

While Alphabet’s current declines hurt, the stock could rebound in the post-earnings selloff.

Greg Abel’s First Year Scorecard

With less than two months left in the year, Abel could be poised for an impressive first-year performance. He inherited one of the most scrutinized CEO jobs in corporate America when he succeeded Warren Buffett, with investor expectations running high. His early tests include navigating portfolio decisions, including which stocks to buy and sell in the first quarter.

Not only is he building new positions, but Berkshire Hathaway stock is also up 11.9% year-to-date in 2026, outpacing the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and a 10.1% gain.

Beating the S&P 500 in his first year would give Abel strong marks, especially after Buffett failed to beat the index in 2025, his final year as Berkshire CEO.

Abel is in a tough spot trying to turn in strong returns like Buffett did for decades, but the first year is currently turning out quite well.

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