Warren Buffett’s track record as a billionaire stock picker is legendary, achieving a life-changing 6,099,294% total return since 1964 through his investment firm Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B).
To put that into perspective, investing just £1,000 at the start of this journey would now be worth £60,993,940 today. By comparison, the same investment into an S&P 500 index tracker would have only mustered £161,610 – 377 times less!
But what about in just the last five years?
Did Buffett beat the market?
In the last five years of Buffett’s tenure as Berkshire’s CEO, he continued to deliver impressive returns. In fact, even when the S&P 500 tumbled into a steep correction during 2022, Buffett remained in the black, achieving a positive, albeit small gain.
So how much money could investors have made with a simple £1,000 investment with Buffett’s returns?
| Year | Buffett’s Performance | S&P 500 Performance |
| 2021 | 29.6% | 28.7% |
| 2022 | 4.0% | -18.1% |
| 2023 | 15.8% | 26.3% |
| 2024 | 25.5% | 25.0% |
| 2025 | 10.9% | 17.9% |
| Total Return | 117.2% | 96.2% |
At a 117.2% return, that means a £1,000 investment at the start of 2021 is now worth £2,172.31 using Buffett’s method versus the £1,961.96 earned by passive index investors.
But with the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ now semi-retired (he’s still company chairman) and capital deployment being led by his successor, Greg Abel, is Berkshire Hathaway still worth considering?
To buy, or not to buy
Despite being hand-picked by Buffett, some institutional investors remain on the fence about Abel’s appointment. This isn’t due to a perceived lack of skill, but rather an unproven ability to manage a massive one-trillion-dollar enterprise.
As a result, Berkshire Hathaway shares have been steadily losing their ‘Buffett Premium’ with the stock actually falling slightly behind the S&P 500 in 2026, so far. However, as a result, Berkshire shares are now trading at a genuinely compelling valuation if Abel can continue to steer the ship as Buffett did.
At a price-to-earnings ratio of just 15.5, the stock offers an undemanding entry point to a diversified investment portfolio that appears to be a bit of a safe haven in the increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape.
After all, Berkshire’s portfolio consists of a largely US domestic earnings base covering the rail, utilities, insurance, energy, and consumer staples sectors, providing a lot of insulation against global trade disruptions. And with Abel restarting Berkshire’s buyback programme, he appears keen to start deploying the group’s enormous cash pile.
So where does that leave investors?
What’s the verdict?
Seeing Berkshire shares lag the market across the first few months of 2026 isn’t that alarming. Short-term performance is ultimately meaningless for long-term investors. And there have been plenty of periods where even Buffett fell behind his benchmark.
Yet if this evolves into a prolonged downturn due to Abel’s inability to fill Buffett’s shoes, then there’s valid cause for concern. Personally, the moves made by Abel so far appear prudent, continuing Buffett’s disciplined investing style while also seeking undervalued opportunities outside the US market – most notably Japan.
With that in mind, I think now might be a good time to mull buying Berkshire shares given the firm’s promising trajectory at a discounted price. But it’s not the only opportunity I’ve got my eye on right now.
