Buffett and his partner
“New things coming along doesn’t take away the opportunities. What gives you the opportunities is other people doing dumb things,” said Buffett, who had a chance to try out ChatGPT when his friend
Munger cautioned that artificial intelligence won't replace everything.
“I personally am skeptical of some of the hype about AI. I think old-fashioned intelligence works pretty well,” Munger said.
Buffett reiterated his long-term optimism about the prospects for America even with the bitter political divisions today. The country is in much better shape than it was in when he was born in 1930 — even if it needs to continue refining itself and its democracy, and it remains capable of extraordinary things, he said.
“The problem now is that partisanship has moved more towards tribalism and in tribalism you don't even hear the other side,” he said.
Buffett said bank failures like the ones this year could have been catastrophic for the economy, but regulators at the
Both Buffett and Munger said
“Everything that increases the tension between these two countries is stupid, stupid, stupid,” Munger said. And whenever either country does something stupid, he said the other country should respond with incredible kindness.
The chance to listen to the two men answer all sorts of questions about business and life attracts people from all over the world to
“Charlie Munger is 99. I just wanted to see him in person. It’s on my bucket list,” said 40-year-old
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said
One of the few concessions Buffett makes to his age is that he no longer tours the exhibit hall before the meeting. In years past, he would be mobbed by shareholders trying to snap a picture with him while a team of security officers worked to manage the crowd. Munger has used a wheelchair for several years, but both men are still sharp mentally.
But in a nod to the concerns about their age, Berkshire showed a series of clips of questions about succession from past meetings dating back to the first one they filmed in 1994. Two years ago, Buffett finally said that
Although not everyone at the meeting is a fan. Outside the arena, pilots from Berkshire's NetJets protested over the lack of a new contract and pro-life groups carried signs declaring “Buffett's billions kill millions” to object to his many charitable donations to abortion rights groups.
But Buffett has long cautioned that those bottom line figures can be misleading for Berkshire because the wide swings in the value of its investments — most of which it rarely sells — distort the profits. In this quarter, Berkshire sold only
Buffett says Berkshire’s operating earnings that exclude investments are a better measure of the company’s performance. By that measure, Berkshire’s operating earnings grew nearly 13% to
The three analysts surveyed by FactSet expected Berkshire to report operating earnings of
Buffett came close to giving a formal outlook Saturday when he told shareholders that he expects Berkshire's operating profits to grow this year even though the economy is slowing down and many of its businesses will sell less in 2023. He said Berkshire will profit from rising interest rates on its holdings, and the insurance market looks good this year.
This year’s first quarter was relatively quiet compared to a year ago when Buffett revealed that he had gone on a
At the end of this year's first quarter, Berkshire held
Berkshire's insurance unit, which includes Geico and a number of large reinsurers, recorded a
But Berkshire's BNSF railroad and its large utility unit did report lower profits. BNSF earned
Besides those major businesses, Berkshire owns an eclectic assortment of dozens of other businesses, including a number of retail and manufacturing firms such as See's Candy and
Berkshire again faces pressure from activist investors urging the company to do more to catalog its climate change risks in a companywide report. Shareholders were expected to brush that measure and all the other shareholder proposals aside Saturday afternoon because Buffett and the board oppose them, and Buffett controls more than 30% of the vote.
But even as they resist detailing climate risks, a number of Berkshire’s subsidiaries are working to reduce their carbon emissions, including its railroad and utilities. The company’s
“It perfectly suits what we should be doing for the planet as well as the consumers themselves,” Jenkins said.
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