OMAHA — Berkshire Hathaway B shares trailed the S&P 500 by 16.3 percentage points year-to-date as of May 2026, marking the largest performance gap between the two so far in 2026. The S&P 500 closed at a record high on the last Friday of May after gaining 5.1% for the month, while Berkshire Hathaway shares were nearly unchanged in May.

The underperformance emerged after a period of outperformance earlier in the year. As of the end of March 2026, Berkshire Hathaway’s year-to-date return stood 1.8 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500. However, from April through May 2026, the S&P 500 rose more than 35%, while Berkshire Hathaway shares fell nearly 11%. Berkshire Hathaway shares are also down 12% from their all-time closing high reached in May 2025, prior to Buffett’s official handover of CEO responsibilities.

Berkshire Hathaway’s current investment posture includes minimal exposure to artificial intelligence, nearly $400 billion in cash holdings, and ownership of solidly profitable but unspectacular operating companies. Greg Abel, who became CEO at the start of 2026 following Warren Buffett’s planned departure announced in May 2025, tripled the company’s stake in Alphabet during the first quarter of 2026. That holding was valued at nearly $22 billion as of early 2026, making it the fifth-largest equity position in Berkshire’s portfolio.

According to 22V Research, Berkshire Hathaway’s relative performance ratio versus the S&P 500 has dropped to its lowest level since 2007. "Berkshire Hathaway was a good bellwether for the S&P, but that relationship appears to be changing," the firm noted.