At Greg Abel’s first annual meeting as Berkshire Hathaway CEO this weekend, the arena was about half as full and the tone was more business-focused—but by and large, investors gave the new CEO a thumbs up.
After 60 years as CEO of the conglomerate that owns everything from Dairy Queen to insurer Geico, Warren Buffett handed over the reins to Abel but is advising him and still serving as chairman.
This year, the meeting celebrated the Oracle of Omaha’s legacy by hanging a jersey bearing his last name and the number 60, representing his time as CEO, alongside a jersey for the late Charlie Munger, with a number 45, which also represented his time at Berkshire.
Abel, a Berkshire veteran who joined the company in 1999 and oversaw all its noninsurance businesses starting in 2018, said “both those jerseys will remain in the rafters for the years to come.”
When it came to the business of the meeting, it was clear that Abel was the one running the show, sitting onstage while Buffett, 95, sat in the crowd.
Buffett and Munger regularly attracted 40,000 attendees from all over the world to Berkshire annual meetings in Omaha. Many investors showed up for the duo’s famous Q&A sessions that covered the business, but often included bouts of comedy. In between Buffett’s thoughts on Berkshire’s operations, the longtime CEO also joked about his junk food-heavy diet and Munger’s obsession with Costco.
On Saturday, when Abel took charge of the meeting for the first time, the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha was just over half full as the event started, the Associated Press reported. Still, Abel deftly explained the breadth of Berkshire’s businesses and covered everything from Clayton Homes’ affordable $249,000 “cross-mod” homes to the opportunity that exists for Berkshire’s energy division to capitalize on the proliferation of data centers.
His knowledge of the conglomerate’s businesses and command of details impressed longtime investors.
“Greg Abel demonstrated his knowledge of and passion for running all of Berkshire’s companies as well as its equity investments,” David Kass, a University of Maryland finance professor who attended this year’s annual meeting as he has for the past 20 years, told Fortune.
Kass, who has owned Berkshire stock for 40 years, said while nobody can match Buffett’s wisdom and wit, Abel has now demonstrated his competency as CEO.
“He is more serious in demeanor, but like Warren he is very pleasant. Since there will be less humor at future Berkshire meetings, they will be less entertaining. But Greg will be able to respond well to all shareholder questions and discuss the past performance and outlook for all of Berkshire’s businesses,” he said.
Another longtime annual meeting attendee, Chris Bloomstran, the president of Berkshire investor Semper Augustus Investments, said the meetings run by Buffett and Munger were an “irreplaceable mix” of business knowledge and humor.
But he added that Abel settled the nerves of concerned investors with a detail-heavy overview featuring remarks by Ajit Jain, insurance operations vice chairman, as well as Katie Farmer, the CEO of freight rail company BNSF.
“For the shareholders interested in the myriad operations of Berkshire, Greg ran an outstanding business meeting. We wanted an overview heavy on detail from Greg, Ajit, Katie, and Adam [Johnson] on how management is attacking competitive and operational challenges, and they delivered perfectly,” Bloomstran said.
“This was definitely the meeting with the deepest insights into Berkshire’s businesses in the last decade,” added Tilman Versch, a shareholder and host of the Good Investing community for value investors.
Berkshire reported strong results in its first quarter earnings, with operating earnings after taxes jumping 18% to $11.35 billion. The company’s insurance underwriting profits increased 29% to $1.72 billion.
While the Buffett era may be impossible to replicate, this weekend’s annual meeting assured investors that the longtime CEO’s pick for the top job was the right one.
As Bloomstran put it, “Any concerns about Greg taking over for Warren were absolutely put to rest. Berkshire is in terrific hands for the decades to come.”
