Warren Buffett calls Iran war market dip ‘nothing.’ What he sees that others don’t

While Wall Street has been rattled by one of its worst quarters in years, Warren Buffett is shrugging it off — and shopping for deals.

The U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran battered markets hard in early 2026. The Nasdaq fell 7% in Q1, the S&P 500 dropped close to 5% and the Dow shed 4% (1) — the worst quarterly performance since 2022 (2).

CNN reported that both the Dow and Nasdaq entered correction territory, with the Nasdaq closing more than 12.5% below its October record high, as oil prices surged (3).

For many investors, that’s the kind of environment that triggers panic. For Buffett, it barely registers.

“This is nothing to make you get excited,” he said in a CNBC interview.

The 95-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” revealed that despite handing the CEO role at Berkshire Hathaway to Greg Abel on Jan. 1, 2026, he still comes into the office every day and remains hands-on with investment decisions.

Buffett described his routine: he calls Mark Millard, Berkshire’s director of financial assets, before the market opens each morning to talk through developments. Based on their chat, Millard then executes trades, although “I won’t make any (investments) that Greg thinks are wrong,” Buffett explained to CNBC. “Greg gets the (updates) sheet every day.”

He also disclosed that he recently made “one tiny purchase” — without revealing what the investment was (4). The mystery buy has sparked immediate speculation among investors, given Berkshire’s record cash and U.S. Treasury holdings of more than $370 billion at year-end 2025 (5).

What’s more, the company recently purchased $17 billion in Treasury bills at the weekly auction, Buffett shared in the interview.

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Buffett put today’s volatility in historical context.

“Three times since I took over, for sure it’s gone down more than 50%,” he said, pointing to crashes that dwarfed the current pullback.

In his view, a market that’s a few percentage points cheaper than its recent peak doesn’t fundamentally change the investment calculus for a firm like Berkshire.

“We aren’t in it to make five or six per cent,” he said (4).

That’s a clear distinction from retail investors who might measure opportunity in short-term percentage moves. Buffett’s investment horizon is decades, not quarters.

Buffett’s position offers a useful framework for anyone tempted to make dramatic portfolio moves right now. The same Iran war that drove benchmark Brent crude to almost $113 a barrel and sent CNN’s Fear and Greed Index to “extreme fear” is exactly the kind of headline-driven volatility that has historically led ordinary investors to sell near the bottom (3).

Buffett has lived through Black Monday in 1987, the 2000 dot-com crash, the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and the COVID collapse — all of which felt catastrophic in the moment and all of which eventually recovered (6).

And his approach hasn’t changed: unless valuations drop to levels that create genuinely outsized long-term returns, patience beats action.

While Berkshire can afford to wait for real opportunity, and most investors can’t match that position, the underlying discipline — don’t confuse volatility with value, and don’t act just to feel like you’re doing something — is one anyone can apply.

For now, the Oracle’s message is simple: zoom out, hold steady and don’t mistake a bad quarter for a bargain.

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AOL Finance (1); Morningstar (2); CNN (3); CNBC (4); Berkshire Hathaway (5); Morningstar (6)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.