OMAHA, Neb.– Tens of thousands of investors are expected to descend on an arena in Omaha, Nebraska, again on Saturday to soak up tidbits of wisdom from billionaire Warren Buffett. But there will be a key ingredient missing from his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting: It’s the first since Vice Chairman Charlie Munger died.
“He was the sriracha sauce at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting,” says investor Bill Smead, who has attended the event regularly for 14 years. “He added a lot of flavor to it.”
Every year for decades, Munger shared the stage with Buffett for the marathon question and answer session that is the centerpiece of the event. Munger routinely let Buffett take the lead with extended responses that lasted several minutes. Then Munger himself would get straight to the point. He is remembered for calling cryptocurrencies stupid, telling people to “marry the best person you want” and comparing many unproven internet companies to “turds” in 2000.
He and Buffett functioned as a classic comedy duo, with Buffett offering lengthy setups for Munger’s witty one-liners. Together they transformed Berkshire from a floundering textile mill into a vast conglomerate made up of a variety of interests, from insurance companies such as Geico to the BNSF Railroad to several major utilities and an assortment of other companies.
The kick-off will be held on Saturday, with the company announcing its first quarter earnings figures a few hours before the meeting. In addition to its largest holdings, Berkshire Hathaway owns an extensive collection of manufacturing and retail companies, including Dairy Queen and See’s Candy. The enormous stock portfolio is anchored by huge stakes in companies such as Apple, American Express and Coca-Cola.
Munger often summed up Berkshire’s success as “consistently trying not to be stupid, rather than trying to be very intelligent.” He and Buffett were also known for sticking to companies they understood well.
“Warren always did at least 80% of the talking. But Charlie was a great opponent,” said Stansberry Research analyst Whitney Tilson, who was anxiously awaiting his 27th straight meeting due to Munger’s absence.
That absence, however, could create room for shareholders to get to know better the two managers who directly oversee Berkshire’s businesses: Ajit Jain, who runs the insurance units, and Greg Abel, who handles everything else. Abel will one day replace the 93-year-old Buffett as CEO.
Morningstar analyst Greggory Warren said he hopes Abel will speak more this year and show shareholders some of the brilliance Berkshire executives are talking about. Since Munger announced at the annual meeting three years ago that Abel would be the successor, Buffett has repeatedly reassured investors that he has confidence in the choice.
Experts say the company has a solid culture based on integrity, trust, independence and an impressive management roster ready to take over.
“Greg is a rock star,” said Chris Bloomstran, president of Semper Augustus Investments Group. “The bench is deep. He won’t have the same humor at the meeting. But I think we all come here to get a reminder every year to be rational.”
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