Warren Buffett’s advice to Brooks CEO: ‘Make sure the brand is stronger at the end of the year than it was at the beginning’

In the latest episode of Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast, CEO Dan Sheridan talks about turning a favorite among hardcore runners into a broader lifestyle brand. It helps that health and wellness have become a priority for consumers at a younger age, when brand preferences have yet to be set.

“Gen Z right now is engaging and running earlier than any other generation in the history of fitness,” he says, noting that many started at the age of 11. “If you put one foot in front of the other, you’re our customer.”

Nike, HOKA and plenty of other brands are chasing those feet, too. One reason Brooks can claim to have No. 1 market share in U.S. adult performance running footwear across national and specialty retail channels is its track record of focusing on performance. That’s a hard-won reputation for a 111-year-old company that once manufactured shoes for a broad range of sports, went bankrupt, overextended, reinvented itself and became part of the Berkshire family in 2006 after getting acquired by Fruit of the Loom. Buffett made it a standalone unit in 2012.

Now, Sheridan is trying to expand into new markets while catering to his core customer and contending with tariffs. “We’re so fortunate. We’re owned by who I would call the GOAT of capitalism,” he says, recalling the Oracle of Omaha’s message when he came to Brooks headquarters in 2014: “He said, ‘Berkshire focuses on the long term, and your jobs are simply this, to make sure the brand is stronger at the end of the year than it was at the beginning.’”

Sheridan also learned the importance of “organizations avoiding the ABCs: arrogance, bureaucracy, and complacency” from the late Charlie Munger.

As for his own workout routine, Sheridan is more of a yoga aficionado than a hardcore runner—but he puts those Brooks shoes to use. “I joke that I think I was genetically engineered to plow a field and sit on a bar stool, but I love running. It’s a part of my life.”(Here’s a transcript of the episode. You can also listen to our conversation on Apple or Spotify.)

Top news

It’s Tariff Eve!

President Trump’s August 1 deadline for reaching a trade deal with the U.S. is tomorrow, and most countries don’t have a deal. Only eight countries have signed pacts. South Korea is the most recent to reach an agreement—15%, plus $350 billion in unspecified investments “selected by myself, as President,” and another $100 billion in fossil fuel purchases.

Trump is angry with India and Russia

India will receive a 25% tariff because “they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country,” the president said. He also said he would impose more sanctions on Russia if Putin did not stop his war on Ukraine in 10 days.

Not happy with Brazil, either

Brazil will get a 50% tariff because Trump is unhappy that the government there is prosecuting its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for attempting to stage a coup after he lost an election. There will be further duties on copper and an end to the “de minimis” rule that allowed tariff-free imports on goods worth less than $800.

Tariffs up, prices up

CEOs say we’re starting to see consumer price rises driven by tariffs. Chief executives at Adidas, P&G, Walmart, Ralph Lauren, Mattel, Subaru, and Nike have all warned that the increased cost of tariffs will soon show up on price tags.

Ford: Tariffs cost us $2 billion

Profit at the company was cut by $800 million because of tariff costs, the company said. Ford shares declined by 3% on the news, in aftermarket trading.

Gloom at Mercedes-Benz and Porsche

Both companies slashed their earnings forecasts for the rest of the year after profits were hurt by tariff costs and lessened demand.

Microsoft market cap exceeds $4 trillion

For the quarter ended June 30, 2025, Microsoft reported revenue of $76.4 billion, an 18% jump over the previous year. Net income climbed even more swiftly, up 24% to $27.2 billion.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet’s bold AI playbook 

CEO Julie Sweet has led consulting giant Accenture with conviction through global trade uncertainty and geopolitical conflict. Now, she’s positioning the company to profit from AI when others thought the technology would threaten the industry entirely. 

Fed leaves rates unchanged

The Federal Reserve kept rates steady during a meeting on Wednesday, though two Fed governors dissented from the decision for the first time in 30 years. Chairman Jerome Powell noted that the institution needs more information about the effects of tariffs before lowering rates.

Marc Benioff talks about AI

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff claims that AI agents now do 30% to 50% of the work within the company, but he doesn’t think the technology will displace many white-collar workers. During a recent interview with Fortune, Benioff explains why.

Jamie Dimon is speaking to Trump again

They have met twice in the last two months, the WSJ says. They discussed interest rates and the housing market. The pair haven’t met in years and have a history of publicly insulting each other.

Bessent airs notion of privatizing Social Security

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House was committed to protecting Social Security hours after he said in an interview that a new children’s savings program President Donald Trump signed into law “is a back door for privatizing Social Security.”

The markets

S&P 500 futures were up 1% this morning, premarket, after the index closed down 0.12% yesterday. STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.14% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.33% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.02%. China’s CSI 300 Index was down 1.82%. The South Korea KOSPI was down 0.28%. India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.08%. Bitcoin is still above $118K.

From the analysts

Wedbush on Apple’s AI strategy: “The ‘elephant in the room’ continues to be Apple's AI growth strategy, which right now is invisible while the rest of the tech world is laser focused on monetizing the biggest tech theme in 40 years....the AI Revolution. Apple's WWDC event in June felt like an episode out of Back to the Future with barely no mention of AI,” per Daniel Ives et al.

Apollo Management on stablecoins and Treasuries: “Almost 90% of stablecoin use is crypto trading, which will likely continue to grow. The big breakthrough will be if U.S. dollar stablecoins will be used for retail payments globally. If the U.S. dollar stablecoin market grows into the trillions, it will significantly grow demand for U.S. T-bills [which back stablecoins 1:1]. There are financial stability risks because money will be moved around quickly if depositors lose confidence in a stablecoin issuer,” per Torsten Sløk.

Parthenon-EY on GDP growth: “Real GDP advanced at a solid 3.0% annualized pace in Q2 2025, partially unwinding the 0.5% contraction recorded in Q1. However, this apparent strength is an economic mirage reflecting a sharp pullback in imports after the tariff-driven front-loading of demand in Q1. Stripping out the noise, the U.S. economy expanded at a muted 1.2% average pace in the first half of the year, revealing soft underlying private sector demand,” per Gregory Daco.

Around the watercooler

Robinhood ‘hulk smashes’ earnings as push to diversify revenue pays off by Ben Weiss

Eventbrite’s CEO walked away from Hollywood to build a $225 million ticketing company with her own money: ‘If it’s a disaster, we’ll just be broke’ by Emma Burleigh

Dan Ives slams Apple’s tech showcase as ‘an episode out of ‘Back to the Future” and turns up the heat on Tim Cook over ‘elephant in the room’ by Nick Lichtenberg

AI and robots can help the world grow more food—even if they’re still not quite as good as a human farmer by Cecilia Hult

CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.