Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel took the stage Saturday to address investors for the first time as CEO, paying tribute to Warren Buffett while laying out a case that the sprawling conglomerate will remain on firm footing.
Abel assured the crowd that the culture Buffett built wouldn't change, before walking them through how the company's varied businesses -- from car insurance to railroads to energy -- are addressing potential opportunities, including in artificial intelligence.
Abel said Berkshire, which is sitting on a growing pile of cash, has a shortlist of companies it is interested in buying, either in part or in whole -- at the right price. "There will be dislocations in markets that will allow us to act," he said.
The new CEO has already started to make changes, elevating deputies who worked closely with him and strengthening Berkshire's interests in Japan. Wall Street still needs some persuading that Berkshire is on a good track. Its Class A shares have declined 12% since hitting a record the day before Buffett announced his retirement at last year's meeting, and have underperformed the benchmark S&P 500 index in that time.
Ahead of the meeting, Berkshire posted strong results for Abel's first quarter as CEO, with profit more than doubling, helped by investment gains. Abel said there are some areas of Berkshire's businesses that he hopes to improve.
Shareholders and event-goers attend the Berkshire Hathaway 2026 annual meeting, with large banners featuring illustrations of Warren Buffett and Greg Abel.
People milling about the Wells Lamont booth, which features a large display of "The Marmon Wasp" race car.
"We'll close those gaps, but we have exceptional teams," said Abel, who is known for being more hands-on than Buffett with Berkshire's subsidiaries.
He said some of Berkshire's operations, including its railway, BNSF, were starting to use artificial-intelligence tools. "We're not going to do AI for the sake of AI," Abel said. "At this point in time, we're using it to solve logical problems in our businesses."
Abel also addressed the company's $288 billion stock portfolio, whose largest holdings are American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and Chevron. He and Buffett discuss potential stock purchases together in the Omaha office, he said.
"We're constantly evaluating, but it's a portfolio we're very, very comfortable with," he added.
Insurance chief Ajit Jain was asked whether Berkshire would consider insuring ships that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a Persian Gulf waterway affected by the war in Iran. Jain said the company would consider it. Berkshire had joined a program aimed at providing policies to ships, but hasn't done any deals yet. "The short answer is: It depends on the price," he said.
The crowd applauded as Buffett entered the room and walked to his seat in the first row ahead of Abel's appearance. They cheered again when Abel directed the crowd to a giant "Buffett" jersey as it was raised to the rafters alongside another honoring Buffett's longtime business partner, Charlie Munger. Munger died in 2023.
"This is not my show today," said Buffett, 95. "Greg is doing everything I did and then some, and he's doing it better in all cases. He's the right person."
Buffett also addressed Berkshire's Apple stake opened a decade ago, noting the consumer-electronics giant's recent 50th anniversary and praising its outgoing CEO, Tim Cook. Cook, who recently announced his retirement plans, was also in the crowd.
Shareholders at the Oriental Trading booth during the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.
Exclusive Warren Buffett and Greg Abel Squishmallows.
No one could accuse Abel of going light on details. His morning summary of Berkshire's operations went long and deep, with extended meditations on the technology transformation afoot at Geico and the stories behind each of the conglomerate's three industrial-metals businesses. By the time Abel finished and welcomed Jain, who was idling nearby, the planned agenda was already 30 minutes behind schedule.
The density of Abel's roundup was a departure from the trademark folksiness and humor that Buffett often brought to his interactions with shareholders. And the new take wasn't for everyone. While most of the seats were filled when the meeting began, some shareholders were spotted leaving the arena even before Abel's opening discussion had ended.
"Charlie and Warren were one of a kind," said Mark Hoffman, a shareholder who has attended Berkshire gatherings for 25 years. While Hoffman thinks Abel will be a successful CEO, he was less sure about his abilities to MC an entertaining shareholder meeting. "I don't think you can replace the showmanship," he said.
Allen Pegues, an investor from Mississippi, appreciated Abel's deep dive. "I liked all of it," he said.
Abel joked that when Buffett announced his retirement last year, his first thought was wondering who outside of the directors and his family would come to the arena, already booked for the next meeting. Several attendees noted ahead of Saturday that the crowds at some of Berkshire's weekend events appeared thinner than in years past.
When a shareholder asked Abel if he would consider selling a business or breaking up Berkshire, he said that he would weigh a sale of a unit if it posed reputational risks to Berkshire, stopped generating cash or would be better off owned by another company.
"We will approach things that when we buy something, it's forever," said Abel. "But it has to be a relationship that works."
Berkshire reported that its first-quarter net income rose to $10.11 billion, or $7,027 per Class A share equivalent, from $4.6 billion, or $3,200 per Class A share, a year ago. The net results benefited from a sharp drop in investment losses from a year ago.
The company was a net seller of stocks for a 14th consecutive quarter, though it bought back some of its own stock for the first time since 2024.
Berkshire's cash and Treasury bills rose to a record $381.1 billion after accounting for a payable for purchasing some of the short-term government debt, a nearly 2% increase from the $373.1 billion tallied at the end of 2025.
Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, rose 18% to $11.35 billion from $9.64 billion a year ago.
A man slides down a blue slide into a pit of Squishmallow stuffed animals.
Berkshire reported higher profits from its railroad and energy units as well as its manufacturing, service and retailing arm. The company also earned more from insurance-underwriting operations.
Buffett has said that operating earnings are the better measure of the company's performance, because accounting rules require Berkshire to include unrealized gains and losses from its giant investment portfolio in its net income. That means that short-term fluctuations in the stock market can cause large swings in quarterly earnings.
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