- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady digs into Warren Buffett’s ‘farewell’ letter.
- The big story: SoftBank sells its Nvidia stake.
- The markets: Mixed, with U.S. futures down.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. The U.S. celebrates Veteran’s Day today, and we are sending a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has served. Speaking of gratitude, Warren Buffett dropped his ‘farewell’ letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders yesterday and offered a master class in introspection, recognizing his own good luck, and passing on sage advice. I’d highly recommend reading the letter in its entirety, but here are a few lessons for leaders I think are worth underscoring:
Curb Your Envy: “What often bothers very wealthy CEOs—they are human, after all—is that other CEOs are getting even richer. Envy and greed walk hand in hand. And what consultant ever recommended a serious cut in CEO compensation or board payments?”
Learn From Failure: “Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes—learn at least a little from them and move on. It is never too late to improve.”
Measure Success Through Impact: “Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless. Whether you are religious or not, it’s hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior.”
Ponder Your Legacy: Buffett talks about how FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, once revered by Americans in the 1930s, “became disgraced for misusing his post.” His advice: “Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it … You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.”
Bet on America: “Our stock price will move capriciously, occasionally falling 50% or so as has happened three times in 60 years under present management. Don’t despair; America will come back and so will Berkshire shares.”
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
Top news
Softbank offloads Nvidia
Softbank on Tuesday sold its entire stake in chipmaker Nvidia, pocketing $5.8 billion in a surprise move. Masayoshi Son’s company more than doubled its quarterly net profit thanks in large part to its bet on OpenAI.
Shutdown may ease
A splinter group of Democrats joined Senate Republicans in passing a measure to reopen the government on Monday night. The legislation now goes to the House, which is expected to take it up no later than Wednesday. Meanwhile, flight cancellations and delays spread amid a shortage of air traffic controllers, who are working without pay. President Trump on Monday threatened to “dock” the pay of any controllers who take time off.
CoreWeave results
AI data-center and infrastructure operator CoreWeave nearly doubled its revenue backlog to $55.6 billion, surpassing a critical Wall Street benchmark, though its debt increased and it revised down its full-year revenue guidance. Investors are following CoreWeave closely since it could be “a potential canary-like indicator of weakness in the AI ramp-up,” Fortune’s Amanda Gerut reports.
Turmoil at the BBC
The crisis at the BBC deepened on Monday after President Trump threatened to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion over the erroneous editing of a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021. Two BBC executives have already resigned over the matter; the president has demanded an apology and compensation for “harm caused.”
The real cost of Trump’s tariff dividend
President Trump’s proposed $2,000 tariff dividend for all Americans (excluding “high income people”) will cost more than twice the revenue generated by tariffs, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found. The extra cost would have to be added to the already ballooning federal deficit.
UBS economists’ labor market concerns
UBS economists in their latest “US Economics Weekly” note compared the national labor market to a bathtub that is losing water (total jobs) as layoffs persist and the flow of jobs slows. “That is a material risk to the outlook,” the investment bank wrote.
The markets
S&P 500 futures are down 0.22% this morning. The last session closed up 1.54%. STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.67% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.86% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.14%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.91%. The South Korea KOSPI was up 0.81%. India’s NIFTY 50 is up 0.47%. Bitcoin was down to $105K.
Around the watercooler
The CEO who transformed Coach into a luxury powerhouse shares the grueling interview process he uses to vet candidates by Emma Burleigh
Meet the millennial Meta cofounder and ex-journalist wife giving away their $20 billion fortune by Jessica Coacci
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Claire Zillman.
