Did you think Buffett’s Berkshire $BRK-B was lagging because it has no “AI” or “chip stocks”? Well, you’re seriously mistaken!
Berkshire Hathaway $BRK-B has risen 7% over the past three weeks, while semiconductor stocks have lost 15%. The market last saw a similar combination in October 2001.
In fact, Berkshire shares are trading at an ATH just under $544 right now, as you’re reading this post. We’re talking about Class B :)
The previous record, set on May 2, 2025—the day before the announcement that Warren Buffett would hand over leadership to Greg Abel—has been surpassed. We waited 17 months for a new high, during which the S&P 500 gained more than 35%. Yes, in this respect, Berkshire is well behind the index.
Since October 6, however, the semiconductor ETF $SOXX has fallen in 10 of 11 sessions, while Berkshire has mostly risen on days when chip stocks fell. The company posted a 10-day winning streak, its first since 2018.
Over 12 trading days, Berkshire outperformed $SOXX by 22 percentage points, the biggest gap since the beginning of 2010. The current combination of chips falling at least 14% and Berkshire rising at least 7% has previously occurred only in 1995–1996 and 2000–2001.
Historically, chips were higher a week later in 5 of 6 cases, but lower a year later in 5 of 6 cases. However, four of these instances occurred during a single bear market, so this should be taken only as a rough guide.
So, do you have Berkshire in your portfolio? I do!