Heed Warren Buffett's Advice: The Time to Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy Has Officially Arrived

Warren Buffett's valuation gauge just hit a record. The Buffett Indicator reached 240%, the highest reading in history and above the levels hit during the Dot-Com Bubble and the 2008 Financial Crisis.

The signal arrives as Buffett exits. He retired as Berkshire Hathaway CEO on December 31, 2025, after a track record that outperformed the S&P 500 by over 6,000,000%. Ahead of his departure, Buffett was a net seller of stocks for 13 consecutive quarters, building a large cash position.

Interpretation: the selling streak and the record indicator point in the same direction. Thirteen straight quarters of net selling suggests Berkshire Hathaway, the parent of BRK.A and BRK.B, found few equities worth buying at prevailing prices. The Motley Fool piece uses this to argue that Buffett's famous maxim, be fearful when others are greedy, applies now.

This is a valuation argument, not a timing call. The Buffett Indicator has no stated catalyst attached, and a reading above the Dot-Com and 2008 peaks does not say when, or whether, prices adjust.