The Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ meeting, also known as the “Investment Industry Spring Festival Gala,” was held over the weekend. This was the first shareholders’ meeting without Charlie Munger. Before the meeting started, a video tribute to Munger was played, and his book “Poor Charlie’s Almanack” was also sold. Approximately 30,000 shareholders at the venue stood up and applauded to pay tribute to Warren Buffett’s business partner of over 60 years.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also attended the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ meeting. Berkshire Hathaway has been Apple’s largest shareholder, aside from ETFs. Cook told CNBC reporters that the company feels “extremely honored” to have Berkshire Hathaway as its shareholder.
However, in the first quarter of this year, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its Apple holdings by about 13%. Buffett stated that despite recent sales slowing down, Apple is still “very likely” to remain the largest holding in the conglomerate. Buffett explained that the reduction was due to tax reasons after obtaining substantial returns on the investment, rather than a reflection of his long-term view on the stock. He believes that tax rates may increase to fund the expanding U.S. fiscal deficit, so he decided to reduce some stocks in order to avoid high tax rates.
According to the Berkshire Hathaway holdings compiled by CNBC, Apple remains its largest holding, accounting for 40%, which is significantly higher than the second-largest holding, Bank of America’s 10.6%.
Buffett believes that his bet on Japanese trading companies has been convincing. He first purchased shares in August 2020 on his 90th birthday, with an initial value of approximately $6 billion. However, Buffett hinted that Berkshire Hathaway is evaluating potential investment opportunities in Canada. He did not disclose specific details about this investment, but the company has received confidential treatment for a mysterious stake it purchased in the financial sector over the past three quarters.
According to the first-quarter financial report, Berkshire Hathaway’s cash equivalents increased from $167.6 billion at the end of 2023 to $188.99 billion. Buffett stated that by the end of this quarter, the company’s cash holdings could increase to $200 billion.
Buffett said, “We’re very willing to spend it, but unless we think they’re doing something that’s very low risk and can make us a lot of money, we won’t spend it.” This also reflects the soaring stock market in recent years, which has made Berkshire Hathaway, with its cash pile, unable to make moves.
Buffett believes that AI fraud could become the next major growth industry. He compared this technology to nuclear weapons because of its potential to bring about significant changes. Although Buffett admits that he knows “nothing” about artificial intelligence, he mentioned recently seeing the process of AI generating its own images on the screen, which made him nervous. Fraud has always been part of the American scene, and this may interest those involved in investment fraud. AI fraud could become a rapidly growing industry.
Buffett will celebrate his 94th birthday in August and has appointed Greg Abel, Vice Chairman of Non-Insurance Operations and Chairman of the Energy Company, as his successor. During the meeting, Buffett mistakenly referred to Abel as the late Charlie Munger, but he explained that he has gotten used to it and may “make the mistake again.” However, Abel called it a “tremendous honor.”
Finally, Buffett humorously ended the Q&A session of the meeting with a farewell statement: “I not only hope you can come next year, but also hope I can come next year.”
AI fraud
Buffett
Charlie Munger
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