Investing.com — Michael Burry declared Berkshire Hathaway an unattractive investment on Aug. 10, warning that new CEO Greg Abel lacks the patience that made Warren Buffett’s capital discipline legendary.
Berkshire (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) is directly at the center of Burry’s critique, making it the primary risk-bearer for any investor who shares his concern that a shift in capital-allocation philosophy could erode the conglomerate’s long-standing edge.
“My biggest fear for Berkshire Hathaway was that when Warren finally stepped down, the successor would be too old and otherwise not Warren, so would not have his patience for the fat pitch,” Burry wrote on X. “I believe this fear has come true. I do not find Berkshire an attractive investment going forward.”
The warning arrives against a backdrop of striking numbers. In Q2 2026, Abel deployed $4.5 billion in share repurchases, up sharply from just $235 million the prior quarter, while making nearly $20 billion in net equity purchases. Those included a $10 billion stake in Alphabet and a $6.8 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison Home Corp. Berkshire’s cash and Treasury bills fell roughly 4% to approximately $364.7 billion at the end of June from a record $397.4 billion three months earlier, marking the first sequential decline in four years.
Burry, the Scion Asset Management founder whose prescient bet against subprime mortgages ahead of the 2008 financial crisis earned him widespread credibility as a contrarian, is not dismissing Berkshire’s near-term results. Q2 2026 operating earnings rose 16.3% year-over-year to $12.98 billion, and net income more than doubled to $25.67 billion. His objection is structural: he believes Abel, 64, is putting money to work in an expensive market rather than waiting for the kind of rare, deeply discounted opportunity Buffett spent decades pursuing.
That view found a partial echo in the Wall Street Journal, which quoted Paul Lountzis of Lountzis Asset Management: “It’s very hard to want Greg to be making big deals in an ebullient market like now,” adding that public markets are currently “kind of silly.”
Not everyone shares the skepticism. UBS analyst Brian Meredith maintained a constructive stance, writing: “We continue to view Berkshire as an attractive defensive investment, supported by a strong balance sheet, upside to earnings from operational improvements, and deployment of excess cash into accretive acquisitions and/or share repurchases.” The analyst raised his price target on Berkshire to $906,011 from $877,848, while maintaining a Buy rating.
