Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) shares underperformed the S&P 500 in 2025, marking a rare miss in the final year under Warren Buffett‘s leadership.
With Buffett gone from the CEO role, his successor could have his eye on changing some of the long-standing stock picks.
Berkshire's Kraft Heinz Stake Up First
Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) shares fell Tuesday after hours with the company filing plans to sell up to 325,442,152 shares on behalf of shareholder Berkshire Hathaway. The shares can now be sold at any time.
The position represents around 27.5% of the entire food company and is part of a stake that came to Berkshire Hathaway after the conglomerate helped fund the purchase of H.J. Heinz with 3G Capital in 2013 and later helped fund the merger of Kraft and Heinz in 2015.
Kraft Heinz shares hit a new 52-week low of $22.35 on Wednesday, trading down 32% over the past five years.
Shares opened for trading at $30.95 in 2025 before ending the year down 21.6% at $24.25. Based on the count of 325,442,152 shares, Berkshire's position was down $2.18 billion in 2025 alone.
However, things get even worse when the curtain is pulled back to the time of the 2015 merger.
Kraft Heinz shares traded at $73.73 on July 7, 2015, shortly after the merger was approved. This was the furthest date Yahoo Finance would go back for the stock.
If Berkshire Hathaway had the full 325,442,152 share stake on that date, there position would have been worth $23.99 billion. Today, the position is worth only $7.89 billion and down more than $16.10 billion.
That may not tell the whole story as Kraft Heinz shares paid out a high dividend yield each year, which was collected by shareholders, including Berkshire Hathaway. However, Berkshire Hathaway also helped provide $10 billion in funding back in 2015 to pay out special dividends to Kraft shareholders to complete the merger.
In total, Berkshire Hathaway saw a significant loss on their investment in Kraft Heinz, a deal that Buffett was once passionate about. The legendary investor believed that consumers had preferences for brand names owned by the combined company, but over time, the thesis may have proved incorrect with consumers buying store-label brands and trading down for lower-priced options.
While Buffett may have been waiting for a turnaround or better time to sell the stock, his successor Greg Abel could be making his first big move as CEO of the conglomerate. The move could also signal that Abel is willing to make a review of the portfolio and sell positions that have been held for decades.
Berkshire's Exit Before Kraft Split
The potential sale of Berkshire's stake comes ahead of Kraft Heinz's plan to separate the business into two separate units.
Kraft Heinz plans to separate into Global Tase Elevation Co and North American Grocery Co, in a tax-free spinoff expected to close in the second half of 2026.
Last year, Buffett spoke out against the separation saying it wouldn't solve the struggles of the company. Buffett said he was "disappointed" in the idea of the spinoff.
Buffett admitted that the Kraft and Heinz merger didn't end up being the brilliant idea he thought it would be. He cautioned that taking the company apart wouldn't solve the problem.
The investor also said at the time that Abel was disappointed in Kraft Heinz, which may have foreshadowed this week's news of the potential sale of the stake.
3G Capital exited their position in Kraft Heinz in 2023, after years of slowing trimming its stake.
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