On May 4th, Beijing time, the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting is here again!
It is expected that 40,000 people will come to Omaha, a small town in the central United States, to "pilgrimage" this year. Some media jokingly call Buffett the "Taylor Swift of the investment world." The "style" of Berkshire's shareholder meeting is famous for being very different from traditional investor activities, because in addition to shareholder voting and listening to company management Q&A, it will also include colorful activities such as picnics and barbecues, shareholder shopping, and fun runs. Activity.
can participate in the meeting as long as he is a Berkshire shareholder, whether he holds Class A shares with a market price of more than $600,000 per share or Class B shares with a market price of nearly $400 per share. Each shareholder can apply for up to four AGM tickets, so some people are reselling tickets online. In theory, as long as the "funding is in place," anyone can show up to find a chance to meet Buffett face to face.
Some shareholders commented that attending the Berkshire shareholders meeting is like "going to church". In fact, you know what kind of message they want to convey. It seems that they always tell the same story, but you can always hear some changes. Current events and learn eternal wisdom from them.
Focus 1: Shareholders’ meeting without Munger
At Berkshire’s annual shareholders’ meeting in previous years, Charlie Munger, Berkshire’s vice chairman and Buffett’s old friend, would sit next to Buffett almost every year. In addition to answering investors' questions, Munger also often teases each other with Buffett, and his humor and wise words often boost the atmosphere of the entire meeting.
In this year's shareholder letter, Buffett deeply missed Munger and called him "the forever architect of Berkshire Hathaway."
How Buffett would feel at this Buffett shareholder meeting without Munger and what words he would say in memory of Munger will be one of the concerns of many investors and followers.
Mysterious movies about shareholders’ meetings in previous years were humorous and did not allow viewers to take photos or videos. This year, Berkshire’s press release revealed that the secret film of the shareholder meeting will be publicly screened for the first time. Some say this may be a fitting farewell to Buffett's legendary partner Munger.
Focus 2: Buffett’s successor
Since Buffett is about to turn 94, how many years will he have to attend Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meetings in the future is indeed a concern for many people, and for Berkshire’s top management Discussions about the transition will inevitably become a top priority.
At this year’s Buffett shareholder meeting, Buffett and his two fund managers Greg Abel and Ajit Jain will answer questions on the stage.
As early as last year's shareholder meeting, Buffett had designated Greg Abel as his successor. In the shareholder letter released in February this year, Buffett once again emphasized that Abel is ready in all aspects to serve as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway tomorrow.
Greg Abel is the head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which invests mainly in non-insurance businesses, while Ajit Jain is responsible for mainly insurance businesses. Buffett has previously praised the two of them as "geniuses" on various occasions.
Among the series of latest transactions, which ones were made by successor Greg Abel?
Focus 3: Plan ahead for Japanese stocks
In the first quarter of this year, the Japanese stock market broke the 34-year-old historical high record, which undoubtedly impressed everyone.
Behind the record highs of Japanese stocks, almost all media reports will mention one name - Buffett.
Yes, just before the Japanese stock market regained its glory, Buffett had already made plans for the Japanese market early. This has to be once again impressive. The "stock god" can always have such a keen investment vision.
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed for the first time in August 2020 that it had targeted five Japanese trading companies - Itochu Corporation (itochu), Marubeni Corporation (marubeni), Mitsubishi Corporation (mitsubishi), Mitsui & Co. (mitsui) and Sumitomo Corporation (sumitomo) hold about 5% of the shares.Since then, it has increased its holdings in these five trading companies in successive years. These trading houses themselves were conglomerates with a wide range of businesses and investments.
In February this year, Buffett revealed that Berkshire already holds approximately 9% of the shares of these five Japanese trading companies. The stock prices of these trading companies have more than doubled on average since Berkshire began investing, driving the Japanese stock market to record highs. It can be said that it has contributed a lot to the process of reaching a new high in 34 years. The data also shows that Berkshire's profits from the five major trading companies have exceeded 2 trillion yen - approximately US$12.9 billion.
And Buffett’s continuous increase in positions in the Japanese market is likely not over yet.
Focus 4: Rare reduction of Apple holdings
Although Buffett continued to emphasize his preference for "Apple", Buffett still made a rare reduction in Apple's holdings in the fourth quarter of last year, reducing his holdings by about 10 million shares, which was estimated to be approximately 10 million shares based on the market value at that time. Reaching US$1.822 billion. Although Apple remains the largest holding in its investment portfolio, accounting for 50.19% of its disclosed holdings, the move still attracted widespread attention from the market.
Apple has been Berkshire's largest holding in recent years. Even at last year's shareholder meeting, Buffett bluntly said that selling some Apple shares in 2020 was "very stupid." However, just a few months later, Buffett chose to reduce his position in Apple.
However, Apple’s stock price has indeed performed poorly this year. Whether it’s the lack of stamina after the release of Vision Pro, Apple’s resolute decision to cut off car manufacturing, or the sluggish demand for new iPhones in China, or Apple’s delay in making big strides in the field of AI, people are uncertain about Apple’s prospects. optimism.
Of course, one quarter of reduction in holdings does not mean that the view on "Apple" has changed. At this shareholder meeting, Buffett is likely to be asked about his latest views on this topic, and investors may wish to pay close attention.
Focus 5: Will you let go of worries about "ai"
Since the chatgpt fire at the end of 2022, this artificial intelligence craze has swept the world, and it is still one of the hottest topics in the global market.
At last year’s shareholder meeting, Buffett, who has never been fond of tracking market hot spots, had already expressed his concerns about AI: “AI can do almost anything, which makes me a little worried.”
He also said at the time that when he saw AI At that time, he thought of the invention of the atomic bomb, and was a little worried about it. After all, "people cannot restore everything to its original state after creating AI." He also emphasized that AI may change many things in the world, but it cannot change human thoughts and behaviors.
However, judging from the financial reports released by many US stock giants in the first quarter of this year, artificial intelligence seems to have gradually brought real benefits to technology giants such as Microsoft and Google. Will this change Buffett's view of artificial intelligence? It deserves investors' continued attention.
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Li Xinzhi
