by Luzi Ann Santos, Jerry Kronenberg and Rayshawn Lin | moomoo News
Legendary billionaire investor Warren Buffett holding his traditional Q&A Saturday at the annual shareholder meeting of $Berkshire Hathaway-A (BRK.A.US)$. Here are highlights:
Buffett's Parting Observation
The 93-year-old Buffett ended his Q&A with a great line: "I not only hope you come next year, but I hope I come next year."
Buffett Not Worried U.S. Deficit Will Create Too Many Treasury Bonds
Buffett said that he’s not afraid the U.S. government’s large and growing deficit will create more Treasury bonds that investors will want to buy.
“The speculation is that U.S. debt will be acceptable [to investors] for a very long time because there’s not much alternative,” he said.
The Berkshire chief said that if markets ever lose interest in Treasury bonds, the reason “won’t be the quantity. It’ll be whether in any way inflation would get let loose in a way that really threatened the whole world economic situation.”
Buffett Says Berkshire Has Exited Paramount, And That Money-Losing Stake Was His Decision
Buffett disclosed first the first time that Berkshire has exited its large position in $Paramount Global-B (PARA.US)$, saying that the money-losing investment “was 100% my decision.”
“We lost quite a bit of money and that happens in this business,” he said. “I think I’m smarter now than I was a year or two ago [because of the investment], but I think I’m poorer, too.”
Berkshire bought about a 15% stake in the company in 2022, but disclosed in February that it sold about one-third of its stake. On Saturday, Buffett revealed that Berkshire has now dumped the rest.
Buffett Spoke in Response to Shareholder Question About Greg Abel
Buffett says he would be comfortable with expected CEO successor Greg Abel handling capital allocation.
Berkshire Will Want to Buy Real Estate Brokerage
Buffett says Berkshire will want to buy real estate brokerages 'at the right price,' even after recent legal settlements over broker commissions.
Buffett Says Berkshire Will Continue Even After He Passes Away
Buffett, 93, said Berkshire is well prepared to continue on even after he passes on.
“We’re very well fixed now … but you have to provide for the contingency,” he said. “There are several people on the board who know what I would do. … The right CEO can make a terrible business great.”
Buffett Says AI Will Be Risky Like Nuclear Weapons
Buffett said artificial intelligence will be very powerful, but potentially tough to control like nuclear weapons.
He said that he’s heard fake AI-generated audio of himself that even his own family would think is real.
"Scamming is going to the be growth industry of all time,” the Berkshire chief said.
Berkshire Likely to Focus Big Investments on the United States
Buffett said it's likely any big investment that Berkshire Hathaway will be in the United States, instead of outside the country.
"If we do something big, it will likely be in the United States," Buffett said, in response to a question whether the conglomerate will be investing in a company based in Hong Kong or China, after taking a stake in Chinese electric vehicle marker $BYD Co. (BYDDF.US)$. "Our primary investments will only be in the United States."
He noted that $BYD Company ADR (BYDDY.US)$ was among the biggest investment ideas that came from his late business partner late Charlie Munger, including $Costco (COST.US)$.
"That was just overwhelmingly compelling," Buffett said. "It was extraordinarily compelling and we bought as fast as we could." Still, he said "you won't find us investing a lot outside the United States."
Berkshire Cash Holdings to Soon Hit $200 Billion
Buffett said Berkshire's cash hoard will climb to $200 billion at the end of the quarter.
Speaking at the company's annual shareholders' meeting, Buffett said Saturday morning that the conglomerate remains committed to maintaining its investing guidelines, putting money to work with investors.
"We'd love to spend it," he said, but noted that they will deploy its cash when the opportunity comes.
Earlier Saturday, the company said its cash had climbed to over $180 billion as of the end of March. The company also released its first quarter results that showed a 39% surge operating profit after taxes to $11.2 billion in the three months ended March. The conglomerate also reported a decline in its stake in $Apple (AAPL.US)$ to $135.4 billion, from $174.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
"We've been saving your money and putting it to work," Buffett told the shareholders. Still, he acknowledged that not all the company's investments worked out as well he had hoped, although he stressed, "we never get close to fatal mistakes."
The company led by Buffett said about 79% of the aggregate fair value of its holdings are concentrated in five companies including $American Express (AXP.US)$ at $34.5 billion, $Bank of America (BAC.US)$ at $39.2 billion, $Coca-Cola (KO.US)$ at $24.5 billion and$Chevron (CVX.US)$ at $19.4 billion.
That compares with about 79% concentrated in at the end of December, according to its consolidated financial statement released Saturday.
-- Reuters contributed to this story.