Berkshire outguns market as Buffett reaches 60 years in charge

Berkshire outguns market as Buffett reaches 60 years in charge


By Jonathan Stempel

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) has held up well in a rocky year for stocks, and shareholders this weekend will be seeking reassurance from Warren Buffett that they remain in good hands as tariff turmoil disrupts corporate America.

At Saturday’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, the 94-year-old billionaire will mark 60 years in charge of what he built into a $1.15 trillion conglomerate.

Buffett will spend 4-1/2 hours fielding shareholder questions, which typically focus on Berkshire’s operating businesses, markets, the economy, life lessons, and the company’s future after the Oracle of Omaha departs.

Berkshire’s businesses are disparate, and include Geico insurance, the BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, and retro brands such as Ginsu knives and the World Book Encyclopedia.

For many, they serve as a proxy for the American economy.

NYSE – Nasdaq Real Time Price USD

As of 3:36:19 PM EDT. Market Open.

Yet through April 30, Berkshire shares have trounced the Standard & Poor’s 500 (^GSPC), rising 18% while the index was down 5%.

That gulf, however, is more likely reflective of whipsaw from U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies than new attitudes about Berkshire itself.

Some observers view Berkshire’s $334.2 billion year-end cash stake, which at current yields could generate more than $14 billion of income, as a buffer.

“People have so much conviction in Warren Buffett and his ability to deploy capital well in market downturns,” said Brett Gardner, author of “Buffett’s Early Investments,” focusing on decades ago when Buffett’s outperformance was substantial.

“Berkshire also has a lot of stable cash flowing businesses that may not be as impacted as other companies,” he added.

The early outperformance fueled much of Berkshire’s stock price gain of more than 6,400,000% since 1965. Over multiyear periods, Berkshire now performs more like the S&P, but with better downside protection.

Buffett readily acknowledges the folly of expecting stellar outperformance over the long haul.

“We cannot do as well as we did in the past,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s 2013 annual shareholder meeting. “It’s tougher as we get bigger.”

At the 2021 meeting, Buffett said a person who knows nothing about stocks and had no “special feelings” for Berkshire should buy the index.

And in his February 2024 shareholder letter, Buffett said Berkshire “should do a bit better” than average American companies, with materially less risk of losing capital, but that anything beyond “slightly better” was “wishful thinking.”



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