Source: Finance Association

On May 3 to 5, EST, Buffett's shareholders' meeting, an annual global investment event known as the “Spring Festival Gala for Investors,” will soon be held in the American town of Omaha.

As in previous years, this year's Buffett shareholders' meeting is still bustling. It is expected that around 40,000 people will fly to Omaha from all over the world to attend. But for Buffett and many investors, it was also an unusual shareholders' meeting — following the death of Buffett's friend Munger for decades, this year's$Berkshire Hathaway-A (BRK.A.US)$/$Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$Only Buffett and his two deputies will be on stage at the shareholders' meeting. The scene where Buffett and Munger are on the same stage has become a hit.

This added a bit of desolation to this shareholders' meeting. Buffett will probably also talk about his old friends at the meeting. Considering that Buffett is 94 years old, I'm afraid Buffett's shareholders' meeting is also “watching one session less.”

Because of this, investors will particularly cherish the “Omaha Prophet”'s insight. These questions and answers not only revolve around Berkshire and its business, but also include many thoughts about investment and even life. So, what topics are worth focusing on at this shareholders' meeting? Let's take a quick look.

The following is the schedule for the Berkshire Shareholders' Meeting

Shareholders' meetings without Munger

At Berkshire's annual shareholders' meetings in previous years, Berkshire's vice chairman and Buffett's old friend Charlie Munger sat next to Buffett almost every year. In addition to answering investors' questions, Munger also often made fun of each other with Buffett, and his humorous and wise words often set the mood throughout the venue.

However, in November of last year, Charlie Munger died just 33 days before his 100th birthday, at the age of 99. Therefore, at Buffett's shareholders' meeting at the end of this year, it is rare to see Munger again. There are only three people on stage: Buffett and his two fund managers Greg Abell and Ajit Jahn.

In this year's shareholder letter, Buffett deeply missed Munger and called him “the eternal Berkshire Hathaway Architect.” At this Buffett shareholders' meeting without Munger attending, how will Buffett feel and what words he will say in memory of Munger will be one of the investors' concerns.

Will the successors be the next couple “Buffett and Munger”?

Buffett is 94 years old this year. How many years will he have to attend Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders' meeting is indeed a concern for many people.

Fortunately, he has gradually handed over the company's baton to Greg Abell, and the words and actions of this successor will also receive more and more attention from market participants.

As early as last year's shareholders' meeting, Buffett appointed Abell as his successor. Meanwhile, in a shareholder letter issued in February of this year, Buffett once again emphasized that Abell is ready in every way to become the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway tomorrow.

Greg Abell is the head of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and invests mainly in the non-insurance business, while Ajit Jahn is mainly responsible for the insurance business. Previously, Buffett had praised their two “geniuses” on various occasions, so many outsiders are watching whether Abel and Jahn will be the next “Buffett and Munger,” and whether they will fully continue Buffett's investment style and vision after Buffett leaves office.

Questions about investments

Over the past year, Berkshire's investment initiatives have been frequently reported in the press:

The first is to continue to invest more in Japanese stocks. Their shareholding ratio in Japan's top five trading companies has risen from 5% in 2020 to 9%;

Second, it continues to increase its holdings in petroleum stocks such as Chevrolet and Occidental Petroleum. Currently, its shareholding ratio in Occidental Petroleum has risen to 34%;

There is also a reduction in Apple holdings — in the fourth quarter of last year, Berkshire rarely reduced its Apple holdings by 10 million shares, which is particularly interesting because Apple has been Berkshire's largest stock in recent years. Even at last year's shareholders' meeting, Buffett bluntly stated that selling some Apple shares in 2020 was “very foolish.” However, just a few months later, Buffett chose to cut back on Apple's position. The meaning behind this is worth pondering.

Judging from the current market performance, Buffett's investment initiatives can almost be described as “amazing”:

Since 2024, the Nikkei 225 Index has led the global rise, and the five largest trading companies in Japan increased by an average of more than 20% in the first four months of this year;

Under the influence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the conflict between Palestine and Israel, oil stocks have soared, and Occidental Petroleum has accumulated a cumulative increase of more than 13% since the beginning of the year;

Reducing Apple holdings is even more “a godsend”: after Buffett reduced his Apple holdings in the fourth quarter of last year, Apple's stock price did not perform well this year. By the close of last Friday, Apple had dropped nearly 12% this year.

At this year's shareholders' meeting, there will probably be quite a few investors who want to know Buffett's attitude towards investment targets such as Japanese stocks, petroleum stocks, and Apple. Presumably, this will also be a hot topic at the shareholders' meeting.

Regarding artificial intelligence: will “stock gods” let go of their concerns?

Since ChatGPT went viral at the end of 2022, this artificial intelligence craze has taken the world by storm, and it remains one of the hottest topics in the global market until now.

At last year's shareholders' meeting, Buffett, who has never liked to track hot spots in the market, 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, he thought of the invention of the atomic bomb, and had some concerns. After all, “people cannot restore everything to its original state (uninvent) after creating AI.” He also stressed that AI may change many things in the world, but it cannot change human thoughts and behavior.

However, judging from the financial reports released by several US stock giants in the first quarter of this year, it seems that artificial intelligence has gradually brought real benefits to tech giants such as Microsoft and Google. Will this change Buffett's views on artificial intelligence? Investors should continue to pay attention.

In fact, Buffett still has too many topics to talk about at this shareholders' meeting: America's macroeconomy, US banking crisis, global geopolitical situation, views on major industries...

People are asking too many questions and seeking answers from this “Omaha prophet.” The 94-year-old's five hours of face-to-face communication with investors from around the world are worth “watching and cherishing” by investors.

editor/tolk