Bloomberg / Contributor/ Getty Images
Berkshire Hathaway, (BRK.A, BRK.B), held their highly anticipated annual shareholder meeting on Saturday. Warren Buffett revealed his plans to step aside from his role as CEO by the end of this year. Here are some key messages from the event.
- Buffett says Greg Abel will take over as CEO by the end of the year
- ‘Trade Should Not Be a Weapon,’ Buffett Says
- Buffett Says Fiscal Deficit Is 'Unsustainable'
- Berkshire’s cash pile climbs to record $347.7B, as the selling spree continues
- Buffett Jokes Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘Made Berkshire a Lot More Money’ Than He Has
Buffett says Greg Abel will take over as CEO by the end of the year
Buffett, who has served as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years, announced Saturday his intention to step down. Vice-chair Greg Abel is set to take over at the end of the year.
"I think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg’s management than mine," Buffett said, and that he has no plans of selling his shares.
Anticipating Abel would be Buffett's successor, shareholders have been watching closely for clues as to how Berkshire could change under his leadership. During Saturday's meeting, Abel suggested he aims to continue the values that have guided Berkshire under Buffett.
He said that “it’s really the investing philosophy and how Warren, the team, and their capital allocation for the past 60-plus years,” adding, “it won’t change and it’s our approach going forward.”
‘Trade Should Not Be a Weapon,’ Buffett Says
Amid economic uncertainty in the face of President Trump’s rapidly shifting tariff policies, many investors were also eager to hear what the “Oracle of Omaha” had to say about tariffs.
Buffett reiterated his earlier statements that he believed “there is no doubt that trade could be an act war” and that it had led to bad outcomes.
“Trade should not be a weapon,” he said, adding that the United States has already “won” in his view, as an "incredibly important country," that "should be looking to trade with the rest of the world, and we should do what we do best, and they should do what they do best."
Buffett Says Fiscal Deficit Is 'Unsustainable'
Asked about whether he believes the Trump administration’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency is a net positive for the country, Buffett said, “I think that bureaucracy is something that is dangerous, and big corporations—overwhelmingly—most of them look like they could be run better.”
“We're operating at a fiscal deficit now that is unsustainable for a period of time. We don't know whether that means two years or 20 years, because there's never been a country like the United States,” he said, but that it “can't go on forever.”
“It's a job I don't want, but it's a job I think should be done,” Buffett said.
Berkshire’s cash pile climbs to record $347.7B, as the selling spree continues
Berkshire had a record cash balance of $347.7 Billion, including cash equivalents and short-term investment in U.S. Treasury bill.
Buffett said Saturday that he’s always looking for new opportunities and would like to lower Berkshire's cash reserves, but suggested that may not change soon.
Buffett said that “it is very unlikely to occur tomorrow”, but he added, “it is not unlikely to occur in five years.”
Buffett Jokes Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘Made Berkshire a Lot More Money’ Than He Has
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (AAPL)—one of Berkshire’s longstanding holdings—also attended the event, drawing a shoutout from Buffett.
“I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more money than I’ve ever made Berkshire Hathaway," Buffett joked.
Berkshire has reduced its Apple stake significantly over the last year, but the company still holds a large amount of it.
