The 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Assembly occurred on Might third, 2025, and also you’ve most likely already heard the large information: Warren Buffett will step down because the CEO on the finish of the yr, to get replaced by Greg Abel (current Fortune profile). He’ll stay Chairman of the Board. It is a large deal, however I view it extra as a step change. It will permit Abel to instantly handle all of their wholly-owned subsidiary firms with full authority, whereas nonetheless having Buffett round to make large offers within the occasion of a market disaster alternative. I doubt Buffett’s day-to-day routine will change drastically.
In any case, I nonetheless loved watching and listening to your complete Q&A session with Warren Buffett, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain. The absence of Charlie Munger was nonetheless noticeable.
CNBC once more has the published rights. You will discover the complete 6+ hour reside re-broadcast on CNBC YouTube and so they have additionally uploaded most of it to the CNBC Buffett Archives website. Their official transcript just isn’t but out there, however yow will discover a useful transcript from Regular Compounding or hearken to the audio podcast model right here. Personally, I wish to hearken to the audio within the automotive as soon as, after which learn by way of the transcript for the second spherical.
Listed below are just a few private takeaways and notes.
Nothing new concerning the money pile. They solely swing when it’s a fats pitch. They continue to be disciplined and stay affected person and opportunistic. From Greg Abel:
Taking a look at our stability sheet, as Warren commented, we can have a fortress of a stability sheet. I believed Sue Decker, our lead director, stated it properly yesterday. We’ve bought a major amount of money proper now, but it surely’s an infinite asset to have that and that may proceed to be a philosophy. Once we can deploy it, we’ll deploy it properly. We acknowledge it as a strategic asset that enables us to climate troublesome instances and never be depending on anyone.
From Buffett:
We don’t assume it’s improper for passive traders to make just a few easy investments and sit with them for all times. However we’ve made the choice to be within the enterprise, so we predict we are able to perform a little higher by behaving in a really irregular method.
To younger staff: discover folks you respect and actually need to work for. Don’t fear concerning the wage as a lot.
You actually need to work at one thing you get pleasure from. I’ve had 5 bosses in life and I preferred each one among them – they have been all fascinating. I nonetheless determined that I’d moderately work for myself than anyone else. However should you discover folks which are great to work with, that’s the place to go. I’ve informed my children principally that you just don’t get fortunate like I did when I discovered what me at seven or eight years of age. It may have taken quite a bit longer, however you need to discover what you’re keen on.
Alternatively, discover a good instructor or mentor in an space you’re enthusiastic about:
People who educate, typically, love having a younger pupil who’s truly actually within the topic, and so they’ll spend additional time with you. I bumped into that. I had Graham and Dodd at Columbia. Dave Dodd handled me like a son principally. However I used to be taken with what they have been saying and so they discovered it form of entertaining that I used to be so , so I’d go searching at what actually fascinates you. I wouldn’t try to be someone else.
On crypto and attempting to get wealthy fast with out creating any worth. A lot of crypto is predicated on the Larger Idiot idea.
If very silly issues are occurring round you, you do not need to take part. If persons are making more cash as a result of they’re borrowing cash or collaborating in securities which are items of junk however they hope to discover a greater sucker afterward, you need to overlook that. That’ll chew you in some unspecified time in the future. The fundamental recreation is so good, and also you’ve been so fortunate to be born now.
A short lived 15% drop within the inventory market is nothing.
If it had gone up 15% as a substitute of down 15%, folks would take that with exceptional grace. But when it makes a distinction to you whether or not your shares are down 15% or not, it’s essential to get a considerably completely different funding philosophy as a result of the world just isn’t going to adapt to you. You’re going to need to adapt to the world.
You will note a interval within the subsequent 20 years that might be a “hair roller” in comparison with something you’ve seen earlier than. That simply occurs periodically. The world makes large errors, and surprises occur in dramatic methods. The extra refined the system will get, the extra the surprises can come out of left area.
In the meantime, paying 1% yearly consistently yearly for funding administration charges is quite a bit.
By the way, if all of you have been paying 1% for funding administration charges at Berkshire final yr, you’ll have paid $8 billion for managing, and you actually wouldn’t have needed to do it. Funding administration is an excellent recreation as a result of different folks put up the capital and also you cost them for the capital whether or not they do properly or not, and then you definately cost them much more in the event that they do properly. It’s a well-designed enterprise for the individuals who observe it – and who can blame them? That’s capitalism.
More often than not, no person has a lot of an edge.
Charlie all the time identified that we made most of our cash out of about eight or 9 concepts over 50 years. We talked about it every single day and skim each report and did every little thing else. However should you assume you will get an concept a day from listening to your dealer or studying monetary data, overlook it. Once in a while you get extraordinary alternatives, and more often than not you don’t have a lot of an edge.
Total, listening to this session as a Berkshire shareholder jogs my memory that the corporate retains a long-term mindset, considering in a long time and never quarters. Lots of firms say issues like they assume for the long-term, they put shareholder pursuits first, however their actions don’t match.
I’m grateful for these reminders of how issues ought to be completed. In fact, it’s unhappy that issues are altering, and Buffett’s growing age does remind me of my very own. I can’t consider how lengthy he’s been at this. Carpe Diem.
Previous BRK conferences: