Warren Buffett’s Handpicked CEO Gets a $139 Billion Wake-Up Call

Days before his first annual meeting as the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Greg Abel is facing a problem that seldom confronted his legendary predecessor: a floundering stock price.

Once synonymous with consistent outperformance, the $1 trillion conglomerate’s shares have been trounced by the broader market since Warren Buffett announced he was retiring and handing Abel the reins a year ago. As of Wednesday, the Class B shares have lagged the S&P 500 Index by more than 37 percentage points over the past twelve months, the worst one-year stretch since 2000. That, in turn, has caused ...