{"id":5598,"date":"2023-05-08T04:55:22","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T08:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/3-takeaways-from-the-2023-berkshire-hathaway-annual-shareholders-meeting\/"},"modified":"2023-05-08T04:55:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T08:55:23","slug":"3-takeaways-from-the-2023-berkshire-hathaway-annual-shareholders-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=5598","title":{"rendered":"3 Takeaways From the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders’ Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

OMAHA, Neb.\u2014The 2023
\n Berkshire Hathaway
\n annual shareholders\u2019 meeting wrapped up on Saturday evening, with more than 30,000 Warren Buffett fans in attendance. The so-called \u201cOracle of Omaha\u201d was joined by the company\u2019s three vice chairmen\u2014Charlie Munger, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain\u2014for hours of questioning on Saturday. Value investors from across the globe made the trip to hear from Buffett and participate in a weekend of activities and shopping put on by Berkshire\u2019s dozens of subsidiaries.<\/p>\n

\n

Berkshire stock (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B) is behind the market this year, up about 5%, versus an 8% return for the
\n S&P 500.<\/span>\n <\/p>\n

Here are three takeaways from the meeting and the release of the company\u2019s first-quarter results Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

1. Buffett Says Opportunities Are Still Hard to Find<\/h2>\n

Berkshire Hathaway has nearly $130 billion in cash and Treasury bills on its balance sheet, leading to ongoing speculation about what the company might do with all that dry powder.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Buffett said he would rather do a deal for a large company than sit on the cash, earning interest, but that it depends on prices, noting that <\/strong>things are generally expensive these days.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

He\u2019d prefer to do a deal with a private company than a more complex transaction with a publicly traded firm, but there just aren\u2019t that many private businesses of that scale available.<\/p>\n

Buffett said that he wouldn\u2019t seek to acquire
\n Occidental Petroleum
\n (OXY) in full, after accumulating roughly 24% of the oil and natural gas producer since early last year.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Berkshire is earning close to 5% on its Treasury bills.<\/p>\n

2. Buffett Weighs In on Bank Collapses <\/h2>\n

Buffett, who is Berkshire\u2019s CEO, had sharp criticism for the management teams of the several U.S. banks that have failed in 2023. He came prepared to discuss the turmoil in the sector, placing large printed signs reading \u201cAvailable for Sale\u201d and \u201cHeld-to-Maturity\u201d on the table in front of him and Munger, to laughs from the audience. Those terms refer to the accounting treatment of securities on a bank\u2019s balance sheet.<\/p>\n

Buffett faulted management at
\n First Republic Bank
\n \u2014which was shut down by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last month before its takeover by
\n JPMorgan Chase
\n (JPM)\u2014for concentrating its balance sheet in low-yielding assets that lost value as interest rates rose over the past year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He argued that regulation in the banking industry is important, but that officials need to do a better job of communicating with the American public to ensure confidence in the financial system and prevent further potential bank runs. That\u2019s especially relevant in the 21st century, when digital banking makes it much easier for customers to move deposits from one bank to another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation in banking is what it always was,\u201d Buffett said Saturday. \u201cFear is contagious. Sometimes the fear is justified, sometimes it isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

3. Abel Will Carry on the Buffett Legacy<\/h2>\n

Abel, who oversees Berkshire\u2019s non-insurance businesses, spoke several times during the Q&A session on Saturday, expounding on the performance of businesses including the BNSF railroad and Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Buffett, 92, and Munger, 99, praised him for his long-term outlook and value-oriented approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Abel is Buffett\u2019s appointed successor as CEO. He was seen walking around the convention center floor at the Shareholder Shopping Day on Friday, shaking hands, taking photos, and interacting with shareholders.<\/p>\n

Abel said he would carry on Buffett\u2019s approach to capital allocation, seeking to buy back Berkshire stock when its price falls below their estimate of intrinsic value.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the opportunity presents itself, we\u2019ll want to be an active purchaser of Berkshire shares,\u201d Abel said Saturday. \u201cIt\u2019s great for our shareholders to be able to own a larger share in all of Berkshire\u2019s businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkshire bought back $4.4 billion of stock in the first three months of 2023, up from $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.<\/p>\n

See images from the event below:<\/p>\n

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Write to Nicholas Jasinski at nicholas.jasinski@barrons.com<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OMAHA, Neb.\u2014The 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders\u2019 meeting wrapped up on Saturday evening, with more than 30,000 Warren Buffett fans in attendance. The so-called \u201cOracle of Omaha\u201d was joined by the company\u2019s three vice chairmen\u2014Charlie Munger, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain\u2014for hours of questioning on Saturday. Value investors from across the globe made the trip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[239],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-5598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-video"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Takeaways From the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders' Meeting | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OMAHA, Neb.\u2014The 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders\u2019 meeting wrapped up on Saturday evening, with more than 30,000 Warren Buffett fans in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=5598\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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