The Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting 2020 was a bit different to usual this year. The Berkshire Annual meeting is often referred to as the Woodstock for Capitalists. The experience goes beyond sitting in an arena and listening to Buffett and co-chairman Charlie Munger riff on the latest goings-on with the company, the stock market, the global economy, and even popular culture. It’s a multiday event that gives anyone who attends a new perspective on just how large the Berkshire empire has become and what it means to the company’s shareholders.
A range of Berkshire-owned businesses usually fill the exhibit hall and offer discounts. With items from See’s candy and Borsheims jewelry to the furnishings of the Nebraska Furniture Mart, kitchen accessories from Pampered Chef, and private aviation services from NetJets, just about everyone will be able to find something to check off their shopping lists.
This year the event was entirely online with Just Warren Buffett and Greg Abel, vice chairman of non-insurance operations present. The event was livestreamed by Yahoo Finance.
Berkshire’s chairman and CEO had plenty to say, answering questions compiled by well-known financial journalists and addressing some of the most important issues that Buffett’s followers have had on their minds lately.
Buffet spoke for a long time about American history and how it is always smart to bet on human progress. He would not say much about how the coronavirus might harm business conditions in the medium term.
In early April, Berkshire sold substantial amounts of its holdings in Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, with disclosures necessary because of Berkshire’s having held more than 10% of the two airlines’ outstanding shares. At the time, it seemed as though Buffett might simply be reducing its positions below 10% to avoid future complications.
However, Buffett reported selling a total of $6.5 billion in stock during April, far more than the Delta and Southwest sales that had been reported and also including shares of United Airlines Holdings and American Airlines Group as well.
Buffett did not blame airline CEOs, who managed their companies well and did a lot of things right. However, he no longer feels that airlines will ever recover to their pre-coronavirus levels, and even two to three years from now, it’s possible that not nearly as many people will be flying.
Buffett tried to be optimistic but made many references to some of the worst times in American History. He argued in favor of long term stock ownership, but avoided making any short or medium term positive statements.
Check out my other video uploaded this morning where I outlined the contents of the Berkshire Hathaway annual report and discussed the Buffett Indicator and value investing. https://youtu.be/98KmPmczJ5Y
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