On Saturday, May 3, American renowned investor Warren Buffett answered questions at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. He affirmed his investment in Japanese companies and expressed willingness to hold stocks for 50 years or longer.
Buffett appeared on stage with Greg Abel and Ajit Jain. Abel is responsible for Berkshire’s operational business and is set to succeed Buffett as the chief executive officer of Berkshire. Jain oversees Berkshire’s insurance business.
This year’s shareholders meeting is considered the most significant in history, potentially being Buffett’s last full participation in the shareholders’ meeting. Investors need to prepare for a scenario where Berkshire is led without Buffett at the helm.
In his shareholder letter released in February 2024, Buffett openly acknowledged that Abel would take over soon. The overall question and answer session at this year’s meeting was about an hour shorter compared to last year.
Buffett, Abel, and Jain answered questions from 9:00 to 11:30 am Eastern Time. After a 30-minute break, Buffett and Abel would further engage in a two-hour question and answer session.
Buffett mentioned that 19,700 people attended this year’s annual meeting in person, setting a new record for attendance.
On Saturday morning, Berkshire Hathaway’s financial report for the first quarter revealed a 14.1% year-on-year decrease in operating profit to $9.64 billion, attributed to factors including the insurance business. As of March 31, the company’s cash reserves rose to a record $347.7 billion.
During the initial Q&A session, Buffett was asked about trade barriers, a topic of utmost concern for attendees.
“You can make some very good arguments for free trade benefiting the world,” Buffett responded to a question about trade barriers, “Trade can unquestionably be a war.” He further emphasized that the United States should seek to engage in trade with other countries, earning applause from the audience.
“Trade should not be a weapon. America – we win. We’ve gone from nothing to an extraordinarily important country,” Buffett stated.
He also stressed that more trade is better, saying “We should seek to engage with other countries in trade.”
Attendee and registered accountant Robin Nasser told Reuters, “Buffett has been avoiding talking about tariffs, and people are eager to hear his thoughts.”
“He obviously knows something that we don’t, as he is hoarding cash,” Nasser remarked with interest.
A question was raised about whether the Bank of Japan’s inclination to raise rates would hinder Berkshire’s investments or profits in the region.
Buffett affirmed their investments in Japan, stating that it aligns with Berkshire’s investment philosophy. He noted that the five Japanese trading companies Berkshire has invested in have performed exceptionally well, and they plan to hold those stocks for 50 years or longer.
Buffett mentioned that Berkshire currently has no intention to sell shares of the aforementioned Japanese trading companies in the near term. Despite his age of 94, he believes their current operations are very successful. Berkshire also plans to expand cooperation further.
“Investing in Japan fits our intention,” Buffett said.
The next question was about real estate and interest rates. Buffett replied that real estate transactions are much more complicated than stock trades.
He explained that he is generally not interested in real estate deals because they face more friction compared to stock investments.
Negotiations take a long time, frequently dealing with individual property owners for whom selling a property is a significant decision, among other factors.