At Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s first annual shareholders meeting since the death of former vice chairman Charlie Munger, CEO Warren Buffett projected the company\u2019s record-setting cash pile would exceed $200 billion this year and spoke highly of Apple, despite the company\u2019s Saturday earnings report showing it sold off a significant portion of its shares in the tech giant.<\/p>\n
Berkshire\u2019s cash pile:<\/strong> After Berkshire\u2019s earning report showed the conglomerate\u2019s cash pile had risen to a record $189 billion, Buffett said it\u2019s a \u201cfair assumption\u201d that its cash and treasuries would exceed $200 billion at the end of this quarter, adding the company would \u201clove to spend it\u201d but wouldn\u2019t unless it was on \u201csomething that has very little risk and could make us a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n Apple: <\/strong>Buffett said Berkshire\u2019s opinion on the virtue of Apple stock had not changed despite Saturday\u2019s news Berkshire sold a reported 13% of its stock in the tech giant this quarter, saying it was \u201cextremely likely\u201d Apple would remain Berkshire\u2019s biggest investment by the end of the year \u201cunless something really dramatic happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Taxes:<\/strong> He suggested selling Apple stock now could help Berkshire pay larger tax rates in the future, as he believes the federal government will soon increase corporate taxes, which he would not oppose, saying \u201dIt doesn\u2019t bother me in the least to write that check,\u201d adding that \u201cwith all America has done for all of you, it shouldn\u2019t bother you that we do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence:<\/strong> Buffett sounded the alarm on advancements in artificial intelligence, recalling how he was startled by an AI-generated video of himself created by a scammer, saying artificial intelligence could make scamming the \u201cgrowth industry of all time\u201d and that while acknowledging it\u2019s \u201cenormously important,\u201d he compared its potential to do harm to nuclear weapons, arguing: \u201cwe may wish we\u2019d never seen that genie or it may do wonderful things.\u201d<\/p>\n Foreign investments:<\/strong> Buffett said that he doesn\u2019t anticipate Berkshire making many significant investments outside the U.S., except the conglomerate was willing to invest in Canada, and was in the midst of \u201clooking at one thing now.\u201d<\/p>\n Succession: <\/strong>Buffett, 93, teased his eventual succession, quipping that investors \u201cdon\u2019t have too long to wait,\u201d adding \u201cI feel fine, but I know a little bit about actuarial tables\u201d (he has already named Greg Abel, Berkshire\u2019s vice chairman of non-insurance operations, as his eventual successor).<\/p>\n Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts:<\/em><\/strong> We\u2019re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day\u2019s headlines. Text \u201cAlerts\u201d to <\/em>(201) 335-0739 or sign up <\/em>here: <\/em>joinsubtext.com\/forbes.<\/p>\n Berkshire on Saturday reported profits of $12.7 billion\u2014a fraction of the $35.5 billion it reported in the first quarter of last year\u2014but this drop was driven almost exclusively by a sharp drop in the value of Berkshire\u2019s stock portfolio. The conglomerate\u2019s operating earnings, or the profits generated directly by the businesses that it owns, rose 39%, from $8.065 billion in the first quarter of 2023 to $11.2 billion this year. Buffett has long argued operating profits are a more valuable metric than net profits. Berkshire benefited from a strong performance from its insurance businesses, which include Geico, and its operating earnings from insurance underwriting rose to $2.6 billion from $911 million last year.<\/p>\n Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s annual shareholders meeting in Omaha is a hotly anticipated financial event each year, with investors eagerly awaiting to hear Buffett\u2019s advice and predictions on finances and the economy. It\u2019s often referred to as \u201cWoodstock for capitalists.\u201d But this year\u2019s event took on a different tenor, as it was the first time Buffett took the stage to speak with shareholders without Charlie Munger, his longtime friend and business partner who died last year. <\/p>\n This year\u2019s event was filled with tributes to Munger, including a video featuring Munger\u2019s and Buffett\u2019s many interviews and pop culture appearances\u2014like on the sitcom \u201cthe Office.\u201d While answering questions from investors, Buffett turned to Abel and mistakenly called him \u201cCharlie,\u201d drawing laughter and cheer from the crowd. \u201cI\u2019d actually checked myself a couple times already,\u201d Buffett said. \u201cI\u2019ll slip again.\u201d<\/p>\n – Berkshire Hathaway’s cash pile is projected to exceed 0 billion this year.What Did Berkshire\u2019s Earnings Look Like This Quarter?<\/h2>\n
Key Background<\/h2>\n
Tangent<\/h2>\n
Further Reading<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n– Despite selling off a significant portion of its shares in Apple, Berkshire still views Apple stock favorably.
\n– Buffett believes selling Apple stock now could help Berkshire pay larger tax rates in the future.
\n– Buffett expressed concerns about advancements in artificial intelligence and its potential for harm.
\n– Berkshire is not anticipating making many significant investments outside the U.S., except in Canada.
\n– Buffett teased his eventual succession and named Greg Abel as his eventual successor.
\n– Berkshire reported profits of .7 billion in the first quarter of this year, with operating earnings rising 39%.
\n– Berkshire’s annual shareholders meeting this year was the first without Charlie Munger, who passed away last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7507,842,247,639,8930,186,913,1512,8931,8726,5663,325,2577,3399,303,2692,641,7563,26,6117,8219,5576,4955,2688,4081,415,3767,1823,1991,7818,2753,3752,3404,1346,4442,2628,3331,855,4593,634,3138,8171,4620,4054,3798,8385,605,1065,5680,1183,380,2389,6305],"class_list":["post-10698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-advancements","tag-ai","tag-apple","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-berkshire-hathaway","tag-business","tag-canada","tag-cash","tag-cash-pile","tag-ceo","tag-chairman","tag-check","tag-concerns","tag-corporate-taxes","tag-culture","tag-death","tag-earnings","tag-earnings-report","tag-economy","tag-event","tag-finances","tag-fine","tag-forbes","tag-foreign-investments","tag-future","tag-government","tag-growth","tag-increase","tag-industry","tag-insurance","tag-investment","tag-investments","tag-investors","tag-meeting","tag-message","tag-money","tag-news","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-office","tag-opinion","tag-performance","tag-record","tag-report","tag-risk","tag-shares","tag-stories","tag-succession","tag-tax","tag-tax-rates","tag-taxes","tag-us","tag-video","tag-who"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n