Source: FX168

At the beginning of May this year, investors will focus on the small town of Omaha in the central US. Here, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will hold an annual shareholders' meeting. “Stock Gods” will talk freely with participants and accept questions from analysts, shareholders, media, etc. At the shareholders' meeting, participants can hear Buffett's investment views with their own ears, and can also ask Buffett questions during a 6-hour open questioning session to obtain Buffett's valuable opinions.

About the “Buffett Shareholders' Meeting”

Buffett's shareholders' meeting, officially described as the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders' Meeting (Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders' Meeting), is an annual event for the investment community to be held on the first Saturday of May. Investors around the world begin their annual Omaha pilgrimage.

Every year, investors have two opportunities to learn Buffett's views on the next wave of global investment opportunities: once he wrote a “letter to shareholders” to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders; the other was his speech at the company's shareholders' meeting.

Over the past half century, Buffett and Munger have teamed up to create the world's largest investment company, with total assets of more than 500 billion US dollars and a return of 18,261 times higher.

At the shareholders' meeting, participants can hear Buffett's investment views with their own ears, and can also ask Buffett questions during a 6-hour open questioning session to obtain Buffett's valuable opinions. In addition, Buffett's shareholders' meeting also brought together many of the world's investment elites, and various visits and dinners related to the conference created an important opportunity to expand contacts in the business community.

Let's first take a look at the schedule for the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders' Meeting:

Meeting place

455 North 10th Street, Omaha, NE

402/341-1500

Event schedule:

Friday May 3 (Omaha time)

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Ticket Pickup Office/Voucher Pickup

CHI Health Center: 10th Street Event Entrance

Please note: Proof of ownership and a photo ID are required before the document is issued.

Noon-5pm Shareholders' Shopping Day

CHI Health Center: Exhibition Hall

Providing our shareholders with an afternoon shopping experience.

Enjoy discounted shopping at our exhibitions.

(You must have a conference ID to attend)

Noon-5:00 p.m. Brooks 5000 Exhibition Package Pickup

CHI Health Center

Noon-6:00 p.m. Brooks 5000 Exhibition Package Pickup

Peak Show, 519 North 78th Street

6:00-8:00 p.m. Borsheims Shareholders' Exclusive Shopping Night

120 Regency Parkway

Saturday May 4

Open day at 7:00 a.m.

CHI Health Center

Booth opens at 7:00 a.m.

Brooks 5000 Exhibitor Pack Pickup

CHI Health Center Showroom

8:45 a.m. Movie

CHI Health Center Stadium

Q&A session begins at 9:15 a.m.

CHI Health Center Stadium

Noon lunch break

Noon-6:00 p.m. Brooks 5000 Exhibition Package Pickup

Peak performance

Q&A session begins at 1:00 p.m.

CHI Health Center Stadium

Rest at 3:00 p.m.

Booth closes at 4:00 p.m.

4:00 p.m. Annual Shareholders' Meeting

CHI Health Center Stadium

5:30-8:00 p.m. NFM Berkshire Picnic

NFM, 700 South 72nd Street

Sunday May 5

8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Berkshire Hathaway “invests in itself” 5 km

Presented by Brooks

Brooks and Berkshire Hathaway will bring the spirit of “run happily” to the annual shareholders' meeting by hosting another “invest in yourself” 5 km fun run and walk event. The event will be held on May 5 (Sunday) in downtown Omaha, the morning after the annual meeting. Please log in to register.

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Exclusive shopping day for Borsheims shareholders

120 Regency Parkway

So, what are the highlights of the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders' Meeting?

Highlight 1: How to use huge amounts of cash?

According to a shareholder letter issued in February 2024, Berkshire Hathaway announced a sharp increase in operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year, reaching 8.5 billion US dollars, up from 6.6 billion US dollars in the same period last year, an increase of 28% over the previous year. The company's operating profit rose to $37.3 billion this year and hit a record of $30.8 billion in 2022.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate's net profit for the full year of last year was $96.2 billion, which is a significant improvement compared to net loss of $22.8 billion in 2022.

Notably, Buffett was sitting on record amounts of cash. Berkshire has about $167.6 billion in cash and equivalents, breaking the record high of $157.2 billion in the previous quarter.

With this huge amount of cash, who will be the next investment target has become a topic of concern for many investors.

“With regard to our holdings of cash and US Treasury bills, we have indeed maintained a position far beyond what is considered necessary in conventional wisdom. During the 2008 financial crisis, Berkshire Hathaway obtained cash through its own operations, and did not rely on commercial paper, bank loans, or bond markets. We never predict when the economy will collapse, but we are always prepared for every possible risk.” Buffett wrote in his latest shareholder letter.

Buffett said, “Our extreme fiscal conservatism is a corporate commitment to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. In most cases, our caution may be considered unnecessary, like insuring a fire fortress building. However, we are convinced that this prudence is key to protecting shareholders' interests.”

Sean Williams, an analyst at The Motley Fool, believes that Buffett's growing cash reserves clearly but silently admits that neither he nor his team sees much value. But that doesn't mean Buffett gave up on the US stock market, which brought him and his shareholders huge wealth.

Highlight 2: Why did you reduce your Apple stock holdings?

According to a shareholder letter issued in February, Berkshire Hathaway sold 10 million Apple shares in the last three months of 2023, accounting for about 1% of its shares in the tech giant.

Apple has always been Berkshire's main holding company, and is known as one of the “Big Four,” along with its insurance, rail, and energy businesses. Buffett said this is Berkshire's main source of value.

In a regulatory filing recently submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Berkshire also announced a slight reduction in Apple stock holdings.

Documents also show that Berkshire sold 80 million shares of printer company HP in the fourth quarter of 2023, reducing its holdings by 78%. It also reduced its holdings of media company Paramount by 32%.

Highlight 3: Why are you optimistic about the Japanese stock market?

Buffett said in his February annual letter to shareholders that his Omaha-based company funded most of its investments in Japanese companies by issuing yen bonds. Berkshire has stated that it hopes to eventually hold 9.9% of each of the five major trading companies it invests in.

Buffett said in a shareholder letter that diversified business, high dividends, high free cash flow, and prudent issuance of new shares are important reasons why it favors the “Big Five Trading Companies.” Regarding when to sell this investment, Buffett said that Berkshire plans to hold these investments for 10 to 20 years. Buffett has revealed that he is considering buying Japanese stocks other than the big five trading companies, and said that if the stocks are further undervalued, additional investment will be initiated.

According to the latest information collected by Bloomberg, Berkshire's holdings include 8.58% of Mitsubishi Corp. (Mitsubishi Corp.)'s shares, 7.47% of Itochu Corp.'s shares, and 8.41% of Marubeni Corp. (Marubeni Corp.) shares.

The shares of these companies selected by Buffett have performed well, and any new support could bring a new boost to the Japanese stock market.

Currently, Berkshire has become one of the most prominent overseas investors in the Japanese stock market. An analyst at Japan's Daiwa Securities wrote earlier this month that in addition to trading company stocks, Berkshire may buy stocks of undervalued, branded or financial industry companies in the Japanese stock market, including Japanese banks, insurance companies, and automobile manufacturers.

Therefore, at this meeting, Buffett may continue to further respond to the topic of investing in the Japanese stock market.

Highlight 4: How do you view the US economy and the Federal Reserve's policies?

Macroeconomic analysis is also a point Buffett particularly likes to talk about, especially the US economy.

Buffett has always been optimistic about America's future. Buffett pointed out that inflation is a constant threat to a country, and the US has done a good job so far. However, he warned that both inflation and recession would threaten investors. The recession would turn into a depression, and it would be much more difficult to rectify the economy at that time.

Buffett attributes his success over the past few years to the resilience of the US economy. In his 2023 shareholder letter, he said, “America would do well without Berkshire, but the other way around would not be the same.”

Buffett said Berkshire is happy to pay a lot of taxes because the company has benefited from “American tailwind” (American tailwind) over the years.

Furthermore, Buffett has always had a positive view of the Federal Reserve. He spoke highly of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell in 2023, saying that if he were replaced by his position, he might not be able to do better.

Outsiders are concerned about the timing of the Fed's interest rate cut. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said on Tuesday that recent inflation data shows that it may take longer for the Federal Reserve to have enough confidence in cutting interest rates.

At this shareholders' meeting, the “Omaha Prophet” may once again express his views on the US economy and the Federal Reserve. Investors are also looking forward to Buffett sharing his views on the global economic situation and future markets.

editor/tolk