Buffett’s Long-Term Strategy Compared to the Market’s Quick Solutions: The Challenge of Imitation

Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, has once again showcased the strength of its long-term value investing philosophy, recently posting an unrealized profit of $1.4 billion on its

(GOOGL) investment—a testament to the rewards of patience and steadfastness in the stock market . The company’s holdings, with 23.4% allocated to three of the famed "Magnificent Seven" tech firms—Apple (AAPL), (AMZN), and Alphabet—reflect Buffett’s shifting strategy to tap into growth from artificial intelligence and cloud computing, areas he has traditionally avoided . As Buffett prepares to retire as CEO at the end of the year, his legacy prompts a key question: Despite his consistent outperformance of the S&P 500, why do so few investors follow his approach?

Over the past sixty years, Buffett has refined an investment approach centered on clarity and self-control. His five main tenets—discouraging most from active stock trading, focusing investments on businesses deeply understood, seeking companies with durable competitive advantages, buying when others panic, and keeping emotions in check—have helped Berkshire achieve an impressive 29.9% average annual return since 1965, far surpassing the S&P 500’s 10.1%

. Yet, few have managed to mirror his success. "No one wants to get rich slow," Buffett once remarked, capturing the difficulty of sticking to his method in a world obsessed with speed and automation. For example, in 2025, Berkshire , a decision that required the discipline to realize gains on a stock still viewed as a long-term core holding.

The recent move into Alphabet illustrates Buffett’s readiness to adapt. Although he has historically been cautious about tech stocks, Berkshire invested $4.3 billion in the company during Q3 2025,

. Alphabet’s 70% surge this year has turned that investment into a $1.4 billion profit, reinforcing Buffett’s contrarian instincts. However, such gains come with the willingness to accept concentrated risk: alone makes up 21% of Berkshire’s stock portfolio, while Amazon and Alphabet represent 0.8% and 1.6% respectively . For most investors, this degree of focus is intimidating, especially when diversification is widely promoted as a way to guard against uncertainty rather than as a deliberate tactic .

The upcoming leadership change to Greg Abel as CEO introduces further questions. Although Abel has been prepared for this role over many years, it remains to be seen if Berkshire’s culture can maintain Buffett’s distinctive mix of insight and discipline. "A great business requires more than a great CEO," Buffett wrote in a 1977 shareholder letter,

. Still, the very qualities that make Buffett’s strategy hard to imitate—patience, deep business knowledge, and emotional steadiness—are what have made it so effective over time.