Berkshire Hathaway shares rose on Friday while the broader market sold off, closing at their highest level since Warren Buffett announced his plan to step down as CEO. Higher interest rates, rising oil prices and a rotation toward "old" economy stocks may be helping. A bet of close to $1 billion on Bending Spoons is paying off, at least in the short term.
Berkshire Hathaway shares closed Friday at their highest level since Buffett told shareholders at the May 2025 annual meeting he planned to step down as CEO at the end of that year. BRK.A ended at $798,000, just 1.4% below its all-time closing high of $809,350.
The B shares finished at $532.02, also 1.4% under their all-time closing high of $539.80. A loss Thursday broke a 10-session winning streak that added 5% to Berkshire's stock prices, but the shares rebounded with gains of more than 1% Friday.
Rates, oil and a rotation lift the stock
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields believes higher short-term interest rates are helping lift the shares. Berkshire still has roughly $360 billion in cash, so those rates mean it will be making more money on that pile.
Oil also helps. Higher oil prices are good for Berkshire's $19 billion stake in Chevron, which closed Friday at an all-time high after gaining almost 36% since the start of July.
Berkshire may also be getting a boost as investors shift away from high-flying AI and tech stocks and turn to "old" economy names. Coca-Cola, a $37.6 billion holding, also closed at an all-time high and is up 34% year-to-date.
Bending Spoons stake adds $330 million
Berkshire's bet of close to $1 billion on Bending Spoons is paying off, at least in the short term. A company news release revealed Berkshire is investing a further $330 million by buying 10 million newly issued shares at $33 per share in a private placement.
Bending Spoons shares closed up 41% at $53.46 on Wednesday after hitting an intraday high of $58.56. They ended Friday at $47.07, which is 42.6% above Berkshire's purchase price.
The release also disclosed that Berkshire invested $600 million at the company's IPO more than three months ago. Berkshire's holding is now worth more than $1.4 billion at Friday's close, by CNBC's math, a gain of 55.3% on its overall investment of $930 million.
Berkshire's B shares still trail the S&P 500 by 6.0 percentage points for the year, down from a 17.5-point gap on June 1.
Source: CNBC
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