Buffett continues his legend with Berkshire Hathaway's stock price hits a new high

Despite being nearly 95 years old, the "Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett continues to write his investment legend in the turbulent U.S. stock market of 2025. Berkshire Hathaway's stock price has been consistently climbing recently, repeatedly hitting new historical highs and becoming the focus of market attention.

Berkshire-A touched an all-time high of $799,501.99 during Tuesday's trading session, while Berkshire-B reached a record $533.29. Both have gained over 16% year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which has recorded a decline of nearly 2% over the same period. This strong performance has solidified Berkshire's market capitalization above $1.1 trillion, reinforcing its position as the eighth-largest company globally by market value and once again proving its attractiveness as the "ultimate safe haven."

Statistics show that Berkshire's stock price has perfectly outperformed the broader U.S. stock market over the past 5, 10, and 20 years. Over the past five years, its annualized return rate reached 22.1%, compared to 17.9% for the S&P 500 index. In the past 10 years, Berkshire's annualized return rate was 13.7%, also surpassing the S&P 500 index by 1 percentage point. Over the past 20 years, Berkshire's annualized return rate was 11.4%, higher than the S&P 500 index's 10.2%. This long-term stable and excellent performance has made Berkshire a "must-buy" target for investors.

Notably, Berkshire's continuous stock price rise since the second half of last year has unfolded without any share buybacks by Buffett. In fact, the lack of buybacks in recent quarters has not affected Berkshire's stock price. Since Berkshire's strong financial report at the end of February showed a 70% increase in after-tax operating profit, investors have been flocking to the company.

Berkshire has recently increased its stakes in Japan's five major trading houses, including Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp., raising its shareholding to nearly 10% in each. This investment has nearly doubled in value since last year, becoming one of Berkshire's most successful investments in the past decade. Analysts believe that Buffett's move conveys confidence in the Japanese stock market while bringing substantial returns to Berkshire.

In 2025, the global economy faces dual pressures of "stagflation" and recession. With President Trump initiating a new round of global trade wars this year, volatility in the U.S. stock market has intensified. Berkshire Hathaway, as a stock with strong safety margins and consistently stable investment returns, has significantly elevated its "safe haven" status in the turbulent U.S. stock market.

Although there is no direct evidence that Buffett is bearish on the stock market, his increasingly cautious investment strategy in recent years is evident. He continues to champion the "cash is king" strategy this year. Berkshire's latest financial report shows its cash reserves have reached a record $334.2 billion, accounting for 29% of total assets, the highest level in decades. This has been interpreted by the market as his potential bet on turbulence in the U.S. economy and stock market.

Indeed, Buffett's foresight has proven correct. In 2025, the S&P 500 index underperformed most emerging markets and European stock indices, and at one point entered correction territory along with the Nasdaq 100 index.

With its massive cash reserves, especially in short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, and significantly reduced risk exposure after cutting its Apple position, Berkshire perfectly avoided the U.S. stock market pullback since late February. Moreover, it has generated substantial profits from the "U.S. Treasury spread + interest" due to the recent continuous rise in short-term Treasury bonds, creating returns comparable to those from Buffett's stock portfolio.

Although Berkshire's current stock price is more than 1.7 times its book value at the end of 2024 and about 25 times its expected 2025 earnings, with both price-to-book and forward price-to-earnings ratios at the high end of their 10-year ranges.

However, Berkshire Hathaway's impressive performance in 2025 once again demonstrates Buffett's investment wisdom. Whether it's the prudent management of cash reserves or the successful positioning in Japanese trading houses, all showcase Buffett's enduring prowess. Investors are also confident in Buffett's successor, Abel, believing that Berkshire's brilliance will continue.

Most Wall Street investment banks have given Berkshire a "buy" or "overweight" rating, considering it an ideal safe-haven asset in the current market environment.