Berkshire Hathaway shares hit eight-month high as portfolio gains help

Berkshire Hathaway shares hit an eight-month high this week, putting Warren Buffett’s conglomerate back near levels last seen before its post-spring pullback. For retail investors, the move is a reminder that Berkshire’s stock can be driven by both its operating businesses and the public companies it owns.

CNBC reported that Berkshire’s Class B shares closed Tuesday at $512.37, their highest finish since Nov. 28, when they ended at $513.81. The B shares closed Friday at $511.54, still 5.2% below their all-time closing high of $539.80 on May 2, 2025, the day before Buffett disclosed that he would step down as CEO at the end of 2025.

Berkshire’s Class A shares also reached their highest close since Nov. 28, according to CNBC. They ended Tuesday at $768,010, compared with $770,100 on Nov. 28, and closed Friday at $766,600. That left the A shares 5.3% under their record closing price of $809,350.

Why are Berkshire Hathaway shares rising?

Part of the answer is catch-up. Barron’s said Berkshire’s rally may still have room because the stock remains behind the S&P 500, with the index ahead by 7.6 percentage points. CNBC noted that Berkshire had already erased more than half of a 17.5 percentage point gap that existed two months earlier.

The S&P 500 is a benchmark index of large U.S. stocks, so investors often compare an individual company’s return with it to judge whether the stock is outperforming or falling behind the broader market. In Berkshire’s case, that comparison matters because the company owns operating businesses and a large stock portfolio, giving it exposure to several corners of the market at once.

Barron’s also pointed to Berkshire’s lag versus competitors in two important areas for the company: railroads and insurance. Those comparisons can influence investor sentiment because Berkshire owns major operations in both sectors.

Portfolio holdings are helping the stock

CNBC reported that three of Berkshire’s biggest equity holdings have posted strong gains this year. Apple, Berkshire’s largest position and now worth more than $70 billion, is up 13.6% year to date. Coca-Cola, its third-largest position at $35 billion, has risen 25% this year after earnings beat expectations and the company raised its full-year outlook, according to CNBC.

Bank of America, Berkshire’s fourth-largest position, is up 12.6% for the year, CNBC reported. Berkshire’s stake in the bank is now worth almost $32 billion.

Those holdings matter because Berkshire’s publicly traded stock portfolio can add to, or subtract from, the company’s overall market value. CNBC’s stock watch listed Berkshire’s market capitalization, meaning the stock market value of the whole company, at about $1.103 trillion as of publication.

What investors are watching next

Berkshire’s roughly 3% gain on Tuesday may have been helped by UBS analyst Brian Meredith raising his price target, according to CNBC. Meredith lifted his target on the Class B shares to $585 from $570 and raised his Class A target to $877,848 from $854,596, while keeping a buy rating.

CNBC said Meredith also nudged up his earnings estimates and responded positively to a Barron’s report that Berkshire appeared to have repurchased as much as $11 billion of its own stock in the second quarter. A buyback reduces the number of shares outstanding, which can increase each remaining share’s claim on the company’s earnings if profits hold up.

The confirmed buyback number is expected when Berkshire reports second-quarter results on Saturday, Aug. 8, according to CNBC. Berkshire repurchased $234 million of its shares in the first quarter of 2026, and CNBC listed the company’s cash at $397.4 billion as of March 31.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.