Without fail, the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting was full of Warren Buffett’s wisdom!
The late Charlie Munger was honored throughout the May 4, 2024 meeting as Buffett said he was 99.9 years old.
The 93 years young Warren Buffett along with his top leaders Greg Abel and Ajit Jain answered many compelling shareholder questions.
What surprised me was how Berkshire Hathaway reduced their Apple stake by 13% as Buffett suggested it could’ve been due to tax reasons. But even if they were incentivized to take some capital gains off the table at a 21% capital gains tax rate in the event the tax rates go up in the future, why do it to Apple and not Coca Cola nor American Express?
If Apple is theoretically the best of all companies (aside from Berkshire), why not sell Coke or AMEX? As of Q1 2024, it looks like the current market value of Berkshire’s AAPL stake is around $135 billion, down from a $174 billion at the end of Q4 2023. Did Berkshire nab about $21 billion in gains from Apple?
Is that why Berkshire cash and treasury bond hoard is up to $189 billion from $168 billion in Q42 2023? And Buffett is saying Berkshire’s on target to reach $200 billion by the end of Q2 2024?
Is Buffett preparing for another 2008 Great Financial Recession someday, like he was mentioning during his letter a lot and to some extent during the May 4 meeting? Only time will tell!
Though Buffett warned there could be danger lurking in the results of fiscal policies, which Fed Chair Jerome Powell can’t control, though Buffett called him wise for what he has been able to influence in terms of monetary policy.
Also Buffett entirely owned up to making the decision to buy and sell Paramount at a loss.
Greg Able, the future Chief Capital Allocator aka CEO, spoke on energy, utilities, BNSF, real estate, and more.
Though Ajit Jain described technology as a bottleneck, I don’t think it is that big of a bottleneck — I think the culture in the insurance division needs to adapt faster to technology adoption. Then perhaps GEICO might eclipse Progressive someday, because how can the Gecko not win against Flo?!
Finally, there are two more gems of Buffett wisdom I’d like to note. Buffett said whether you’re rich or poor, you can be kind. It’s not something a lot of rich people do, in an ironic note.
Buffett honored Charlie by saying he was “unfailingly honest” and “when you get that in your life, you cherish those people and you sort of forget about the rest.”
Charlie left a legacy of kindness in teaching us all, including Warren, how to be the best investors we can be. RIP Charlie.
If you’re interested in learning how to take control of your finances and start becoming an investor like Warren Buffett, check out my free PDF guide.
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