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Berkshire Bets $930 Million on a Software Salvage Firm - Here's What It Means for Your Retirement Portfolio

Greg Abel's first major tech play raises questions about risk tolerance

By Damilola Esebame, CFEI® , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Oct. 21, 2026

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Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) invested $930 million in Bending Spoons (NASDAQ: BSP), a Milan-based company that buys struggling software brands, cuts costs, and makes them profitable. The stock surged 41% after the latest $330 million purchase, and where you stand financially as a Berkshire holder could depend on how this strategy performs.

Greg Abel replaced Warren Buffett as Berkshire's chief executive officer (CEO) at the start of 2026, and the Bending Spoons investment signals a willingness to back riskier companies than Buffett typically chose. Retirees holding the stock may want to understand what the shift could mean.

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Berkshire added $330 million on top of a $600 million IPO stake

Berkshire first invested $600 million during Bending Spoons' July 2026 initial public offering (IPO), then added $330 million through a private placement of 10 million shares at $33 each, roughly 13% below market price. The combined $930 million stake gives Berkshire 4% ownership in the company and makes it the sixth-largest investor, Benzinga showed.

The IPO raised approximately $1.68 billion and valued Bending Spoons at about $18.4 billion, up from an $11 billion private-market valuation in 2025, Benzinga reported. At less than 0.1% of Berkshire's $1.14 trillion market capitalization, the position is small enough that a decline would barely register in your account balance, though it could foreshadow more deals ahead, the Motley Fool outlined.

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Revenue tripled to $1.31 billion, but most growth came from acquisitions

Annual revenue rose from $387 million in 2023 to $1.31 billion in 2025, more than tripling in two years, and subscriptions made up 84% of revenue in the first quarter of 2026. By March 2026, products across the portfolio had more than 500 million monthly active users, Euronews reported.

Yoram Wijngaarde, founder and CEO of data analytics firm Dealroom, said 'acquisition-led growth should not be confused with organic growth.' Dealroom's analysis found that acquisitions accounted for most of the revenue increase, though businesses owned before the buying spree also grew, Euronews showed.

Bending Spoons cut 75% of WeTransfer's workforce after the acquisition

Large layoffs followed nearly every major acquisition, raising questions about whether the products could keep improving with significantly fewer people, Euronews showed.

After buying Evernote in early 2023, Bending Spoons laid off most of the app's United States (US) and Chile-based employees as it shifted operations to Europe.
The company planned to cut roughly 260 of WeTransfer's 350 workers, about 75% of the staff, after acquiring the file-sharing platform in 2024.
Bending Spoons' earnings are neither consistent nor predictable, a concern for retirees who count on Berkshire for steady portfolio growth, the Motley Fool documented.

A wait-and-see approach may make sense for Berkshire shareholders, because the model takes on risk with brands of uncertain value and has produced inconsistent earnings.

The investment style shifted from predictable earners to turnaround bets

At the 2014 annual meeting, Buffett said he was 'much more inclined to cry than to smile' when a portfolio company announced an acquisition, a philosophy that helped make Berkshire a predictable holding for decades and that Abel's Bending Spoons investment appears to move away from, the Motley Fool noted.

Abel and Buffett reportedly remain in sync on investment discussions, yet the Bending Spoons bet represents a willingness to embrace turnaround-style risk that Buffett rarely displayed. Co-founder Luca Ferrari called Berkshire 'among the finest and most respected capital allocators in the world,' suggesting both sides view the partnership as long-term, Benzinga outlined.

Bending Spoons' deal pipeline points to more acquisitions ahead

The position is small relative to Berkshire's broader portfolio, but its significance lies in what it reveals about Abel's evolving strategy and tolerance for companies that grow through acquisitions, the Motley Fool reported. Bending Spoons ended June with $793 million in cash and $1.28 billion in available credit, giving it resources to keep acquiring companies, the SEC filing showed.

The company's September agreement to buy Miro, a visual collaboration software platform for $1.355 billion, suggests the acquisition pace may accelerate, and a strong deal pipeline could mean more restructuring ahead, Yahoo Finance noted. Retirees who bought Berkshire for its predictable cash-generating businesses may want to reassess whether the growing tech exposure matches the conservative role they assigned the stock.

Watch product retention and subscriber trends rather than the stock price alone

Wijngaarde said the measures that matter are 'product quality, useful features, and retention, not just headcount or margins,' a reminder that workforce cuts alone do not determine whether an acquisition succeeds, Euronews reported.

Bending Spoons has said it has never sold a material business, suggesting long-term commitment to each brand, and whether the company could grow its products while staying profitable after deep staff cuts may shape the value of Berkshire's stake over time, Benzinga documented.

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Bottom line

Class B shares closed at $532.23 on October 19 near the 52-week high of $537.74, the Motley Fool showed. Berkshire's cash fell from roughly $400 billion to $365 billion between March and June as Abel deployed capital, and the drawdown suggests he may continue putting cash to work at a pace Buffett rarely matched in his final years.

Co-founder Francesco Patarnello said the company continuously evaluates acquisition opportunities and that the deal pipeline remains strong, meaning more purchases are likely ahead. Tracking your Berkshire stake through your must-have investing apps could help you assess whether Abel's approach still fits a conservative retirement portfolio.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

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