‘We’d love to spend it, but…’: Warren Buffett as Berkshire’s cash pile swells to $189 billion

Warren Buffett took the stage at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday to pay tribute to his longtime business partner Charlie Munger, who died last year, and to promote Berkshire’s goals for increasing profits. explained. This meeting is the 60th since Buffett (93 years old) acquired Berkshire in 1965. He almost stopped appearing in public to discuss the company. He told investors last November that he felt good but knew he was “going into extra innings.”

This shareholders’ meeting is the first since Charlie Munger, Buffett’s long-time friend, business partner and associate, passed away at the age of 99 last November. In a video ahead of the meeting, Berkshire showed a photo of Omaha in 1924 and a video tribute to Charlie Munger. The story of Buffett and Munger over the years. Munger was known for his succinct and scathing comebacks to Buffett’s lengthy assessments of Berkshire, the economy, Wall Street and life.

“Charlie’s architectural thinking created today’s Berkshire Hathaway,” Buffett said in the video. His designs, he said, “will continue beyond his lifetime and will last much longer than mine.”

Ahead of the meeting, Berkshire reported first-quarter earnings showing its cash holdings had increased to $189 billion as of March 31, while its Apple stake had declined. Following Apple’s share price fluctuations, Berkshire appears to have sold 13% of its shares in the quarter.

At Berkshire’s annual meeting, Buffett said it was a “fair assumption” that Berkshire would have $200 billion in cash at the end of the quarter. “We want to spend money, but we won’t unless we think we’re doing something that has very little risk and will make us a lot of money.” Buffett has long touted the iPhone maker’s leadership and market power. Some investors have expressed concern that Apple has become too large a part of Berkshire’s investment portfolio. Apple CEO Tim Cook attended Saturday’s meeting. “Berkshire’s goal… is to increase operating profits,” Buffett said as he began the meeting by summarizing first quarter results. In downtown Omaha, hundreds of shareholders waited in line overnight to get in early. As the doors opened, several shareholders rushed in to get good seats, and the auditorium quickly filled up.

“I’ve been here since 2:30 a.m.,” said Serena Lam, 32, an investment portfolio manager who was first in line at one of the arrival halls on a flight from Hong Kong with 40 others. “I want to meet Warren Buffett. I want to hear his views on Japanese stocks. I flew more than 25 hours to do this.”

At the downtown stadium, Buffett and Vice Chairman Greg Abel, 61, are expected to answer about five hours of questions. Vice Chairman Ajit Jain (72) will also join. Abel has been appointed as Buffett’s successor as CEO in 2021.

Bill Gunther, 72, a retired forester from Newfane, Vermont, brought a lawn chair to sit in while he was online.

“I’m very optimistic about Berkshire. Berkshire is very diverse and has a good corporate culture. That’s one thing I like.”

Investors are focused on how the conglomerate will evolve as it faces challenges such as how best to grow without overpaying for acquisitions, whether to pay dividends and how to deploy its cash reserves, which stood at $189 billion at the end of March.

Sequel Top of Mind
Berkshire is an $862 billion conglomerate with dozens of businesses, including BNSF Railroad, Geico auto insurance, Dairy Queen, and Fruit of the Loom. It also owns over $300 billion in stocks, nearly half of which are Apple.

Berkshire’s shares are up 23% over the past year, lagging the S&P 500’s 25% gain. Over the past 10 years, it is up 218% compared to the S&P’s 172% rise.

Buffett is expected to face a variety of questions Saturday, ranging from major investments such as Apple and Occidental Petroleum to how rising interest rates have affected the company.

Stephen Check, CEO of Check Capital Management, who attended the 27th meeting, said, “I want to see Warren’s energy.” “I’m glad Greg and Ajit took the lead.”

Berkshire is also expected to report first-quarter earnings and shareholders will vote on six proposals on climate, diversity and China. Buffett opposes all six of these.

The weekend offers shareholders the opportunity to purchase merchandise such as Berkshire T-shirts and Squishmallow toys at exhibits featuring Berkshire-owned companies.

Ruth Gearhart, 72, of Omaha, filled her bag with tongs and spatulas from See’s Candies and Pampered Chef. Gearhart, who is in her 15th year as a shareholder, said she is primarily interested in what Buffett will say about her own succession.

“I trust him,” she said. “He’s a great guy and there’s a lot of great people around. He’s going to help us get through this. I don’t want to see him go, but I think they’ve prepared well.”