By Jonathan Stempel, Suzanne McGee and Tatiana Bautzer
OMAHA, Nebraska/NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) – Greg Abel moved to assure Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that he runs a unique conglomerate that will invest thoughtfully without the burdens of bureaucracy, as he seeks to win over those cautiously hoping he is a worthy successor to Warren Buffett.
Abel, 63, who became chief executive in January, must earn the trust of investors increasingly focused on technology and artificial intelligence, unlike Berkshire’s collection of insurers, retailers and hard-asset businesses in energy, industrials and manufacturing.
“As a conglomerate, we live by the fact that we hate bureaucracy,” Abel said in answer to the first question from a shareholder, prerecorded by Buffett himself. “We do not intend to be beholden to anyone. We start with that position.”
Buffett, with some humor, had introduced himself in the clip as “Warren from Omaha” as he asked about the future of the company he had run for 60 years and why shareholders should hold it long-term, declaring he has “no intention of selling a single share.”
Abel said the company has a “unique opportunity to both take the businesses we have today, take that foundation, and build on it … and deploy our capital back to it … We can create long-term value for shareholders.”
Abel opened the event on Saturday by introducing top people at Berkshire. The company raised a banner with Buffett’s name and his number, 60, for the years he served as CEO, to applause from the crowd. Unlike in recent years when Buffett, now 95, presided, there were several thousand empty seats at the start of the annual meeting in a downtown Omaha arena, which seats about 18,000.
BUFFETT PRESENCE AT MEETING
Buffett’s appearance was a highlight of the first hour of the meeting. “Greg is doing everything I did and then some,” he told the audience, reprising comments he made last year when he announced his retirement as CEO.
In his brief comments to the audience delivered from his seat on the floor among his fellow directors, Buffett praised retiring Apple CEO Tim Cook, who recently announced his departure as chief executive more than a decade after he took over from founder Steve Jobs. Apple has become one of Berkshire’s largest holdings over the last 10 years.
“When we made our investment … we were turning it over to Tim,” who turned that $35 billion stake into a position worth $185 billion “or something” on a pre-tax basis. “We’re very big around here on having other people do the work,” he quipped.
Though Berkshire is often considered a microcosm of the U.S. economy, its shares have lagged the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 39 percentage points since Buffett announced at last year’s meeting that he would step down. He remains chairman.
Abel had been Buffett’s designated successor since 2021, but the announcement was a surprise.
“Greg has a formidable challenge, replacing the greatest investor who ever lived,” said Paul Lountzis, a money manager attending his 34th Berkshire annual meeting.
GETTING MORE DETAILS
It is unclear how higher inflation and slumping consumer sentiment may have weighed on demand for products and services offered by Berkshire subsidiaries.
Ahead of the meeting, Berkshire Hathaway reported higher first-quarter operating profit while its cash stake ended March at $380.2 billion. The company also said it repurchased $234 million of its own stock in the quarter, its first buybacks since May 2024.
Abel said during the meeting that there would be a significant opportunity to deploy capital over the long term.
The meeting is the centerpiece of a weekend of shareholder events around Omaha, including investment conferences, private get-togethers, and shopping from Berkshire-owned businesses in a downtown exhibit hall.
Prior to the meeting, thousands of people lined up outside a downtown arena before doors opened at 7 a.m., though the lines were considerably shorter than in recent years.
Jobby Chin, a finance student from Singapore attending her first meeting, said she got in line at 2 a.m.
“I wanted to soak in the atmosphere and network with finance professionals,” she said. “We wanted to make the most of the opportunity.”
Michael DiDonna, a fashion photographer from Oyster Bay, New York, said he arrived at 3:10 a.m. for his fifth Berkshire meeting.
“We like to sit in the same seat, to feel the energy,” he said. “It’s a really exciting time for Berkshire. I want to feel a part of the monumental shift at the company.”
CHALLENGES ON WHERE TO PUT CASH
Abel inherits many challenges that bedeviled Buffett, perhaps none more than where to invest Berkshire’s cash.
While Berkshire resumed stock repurchases in March after nearly two years with none, it has gone a decade without a needle-moving acquisition.
Many businesses have also been sluggish, with overall operating profit falling 6% in 2025 and revenue growth nonexistent.
Shareholders may also wonder how Abel can effectively manage Berkshire’s stock portfolio.
Unlike Buffett, Abel has no professional history as a stock picker, yet by February he was overseeing 94% of Berkshire’s stock investments, instead of giving more responsibility to investment manager Ted Weschler, who oversees the other 6%.
“It’s watching history unfold, a reset for the next generation,” said Tom Russo, a money manager who said he began attending Berkshire shareholder meetings in 1985.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska; additional reporting by Suzanne McGee, Editing by Colin Barr, Megan Davies, Edmund Klamann, Rod Nickel)
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