Warren Buffett takes the stage in Omaha for the first time since the death of Charlie Munger
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Updated May 4, 2024 at 9:29 am ET
OMAHA, Neb.—The day is here: Warren Buffett will take the stage to address thousands of shareholders and fans, this time without his late partner Charlie Munger. shareholders formed by 5 a.m. local time Saturday to be there in the arena when the legendary investor speaks.
Buffett, Berkshire’s 93-year-old chairman and chief executive, will field questions from shareholders along with Greg Abel, his designated successor as CEO, and Ajit Jain, who runs Berkshire’s insurance business.
In the past, investors have peppered Buffett and deputies with questions on economic developments, stock picking and business at Berkshire’s subsidiaries, such as insurer Geico and BNSF Railway. The Q&A session begins at 9:15 a.m. CT.
Saturday’s events kicked off with the release of Berkshire’s results for the first quarter. The company cut its mammoth stake in Apple by about 13% in the first months of 2024, its regulatory filing showed. Berkshire’s investment in Apple has paid off big time, but some shareholders worry its very size makes it risky.
Berkshire reported holding $135.4 billion of Apple shares at the end of March, down from $174.3 billion at the end of December. Apple shares fell 11% in the first quarter as iPhone sales slumped in China. Buffett will likely face questions from shareholders about his outlook for Apple during Saturday’s event.
At events leading up to the annual meeting, visitors spoke frequently of Munger, who for decades joined Buffett in the spotlight at the springtime gatherings in Omaha. Munger died in November at 99.
That prompted shareholder Melissa Vainik and her mother, Rosalyn Slater, to travel again to Omaha from West Bloomfield, Mich. Slater recalled appreciating Munger’s “biting humor.”
“Because of his passing, we felt the need to come,” Vainik said. “What if something happens to Warren Buffett and then it’s the end of an era?”
Return visitors to Berkshire’s annual meeting know to expect crowds. Early birds aiming for a good seat had the chance to enter the convention center’s parking lots at 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
Nearby hotels filled up early. On the Friday and Saturday nights of last year’s annual meeting, 93% of hotel rooms in the county were filled, according to Jasmyn Goodwin, vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Omaha.
At an exhibit hall Friday, shareholders walked by a towering inflatable Geico gecko to snap up Squishmallows plush toys in the form of Buffett and Munger from subsidiary Jazwares. They queued to tour a mock-up of a NetJets private plane while eating frozen treats from Dairy Queen. A house from Clayton Homes, a pontoon boat from Forest River and Buffett and Munger bobblehead dolls from Oriental Trading were also on display.
LaWanda Cartwright, a semiretired kindergarten teacher, traveled to Omaha from Auburn, Wash., with her son and teenage granddaughter. Years ago, Cartwright decided to give her grandchildren a share of Berkshire instead of a toy for gifts. “You own a little bit of Dairy Queen,” she would tell them when they visited the chain.
“So it made them aware of investment possibilities,” Cartwright said.
Berkshire reported net income of $12.7 billion, or $8,825 a Class A share equivalent, for the first quarter. That was down from $35.5 billion, or $24,377 a Class A share equivalent, a year earlier.
Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, rose to $11.2 billion from $8.1 billion last year.
Buffett encourages investors to focus on operating earnings to assess the company’s performance. Berkshire is required by accounting rules to include unrealized gains and losses from its massive investment portfolio when it reports net income. That means the movements of the stock market can have a big influence on the company’s quarterly results.
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Berkshire’s cash pile rose to a record $189 billion, including cash equivalents, from $167.6 billion at the end of last year. Followers of the company have been looking for clues about what Buffett might do with the cash hoard, from acquiring a new business to buying stocks to stepping up share repurchases. Berkshire doesn’t pay a dividend.
Berkshire’s Class B shares have climbed 12% this year, compared with a 7.5% rise in the S&P 500. That has brought the company’s market value to about $865 billion, making it the seventh-largest U.S. company by market value. The bigger ones are all tech titans.
