Berkshire plans for life after Munger (and Buffett)
On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK) held its first annual shareholder meeting since the passing of Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, Charlie Munger. Berkshire’s cash pile ballooned to a record $189B, earning $1.93B in interest in the first quarter. Despite selling nearly $20B in stock during the quarter, the company only bought $2.7B, highlighting its challenges in deploying its cash. Investors interpreted this as a bearish signal for the market.
- Berkshire reduced its stake in Apple by 13% — the second quarter in a row that it’s sold, except Buffett has no plans to drop “unless something really extraordinary happens” (WSJ).
- Instead, he says that it will remain Berkshire’s largest holding — calling it “even better” than American Express and Coca-Cola, his two other major positions.
There will come a day… When Buffett needs to pass the baton to his successors. He assured investors that a succession plan is in place and that Berkshire is in good hands with Greg Abel, responsible for allocating Berkshire’s cash, and Ajit Jain, who oversees Berkshire’s insurance business and played a crucial role in making Berkshire the largest US insurer.
