Berkshire CEO Greg Abel earns solid first scorecard after first annual meeting

Omaha, Nebraska – in his first race Berkshire HathawayAt the annual meeting, Greg Abel delivered everything many shareholders came to see: a steady hand, a strong grip on the giant conglomerate and his own style for reassuring investors the post-Warren Buffett era is on solid footing.

Reviews from long-time shareholders and professional investors were largely positive, even as many acknowledged the notable absence of Buffett, whose wit, storytelling and investing skills have long defined the event.

“Very solid. No wrong words. Perfect answer,” said Steve Check, founder of Check Capital Management. “Nice guy, but we sure don’t have the laughs we had with Warren and Charlie (Munger).”

“Greg & Co. provided content, scrutiny of the businesses, and confidence in the outlook,” said McCray Sykes, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds.

David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland and a Berkshire shareholder for decades, said his confidence in Berkshire has increased after witnessing Abel’s performance firsthand. He pointed to the company’s “deep bench” – which included executives such as Ajit Jain, Berkshire’s vice president of insurance operations; Adam Johnson, President Berkshire Consumer Productsservice and retail trade; and BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer – as proof that leadership continuity goes far beyond a statistic.

“Greg demonstrated the knowledge and passion for running all of Berkshire’s businesses,” Kass said. “His main focus is on operations. In contrast, Buffett focuses more on the investment side of Berkshire.”

nuanced insight

The change in emphasis was evident during the question-and-answer session, where Abell discussed Berkshire’s subsidiaries in detail, a level of specificity that resonated with shareholders seeking reassurance about execution under new leadership.

“The answers were really good because they gave detailed information,” said Tilman Wersch, founder of Good Investing, a German shareholder and investor community. “Everyone misses Warren. His clear, coherent and funny answers are hard to replace. But with more practice, I hope Greg can find his own style.”

Abel opened the session with a nearly hour-long presentation, walking investors through the inner workings of Berkshire’s key businesses. He delved into the performance and outlook of its railroad unit, energy operations, insurance arm and retail subsidiaries and offered a level of operating detail that shareholders said felt more akin to an investor day than the freewheeling, anecdote-driven format of previous meetings.

inclined towards technology

Artificial intelligence emerged as a central theme at the meeting. Abel said Berkshire is already exploring AI-powered tools to improve operations at BNSF Railway, and spoke fluently about technologies like large language models, emphasizing their potential to enhance the company’s existing businesses.

He pointed to increased data center development as a major tailwind for Berkshire’s utility operations, adding that rising electricity demand has created a significant growth opportunity for its energy grid assets.

“He was clearly very comfortable with technology and AI, unlike Warren, who generally avoided technology-oriented investments outside of Apple and, more recently, Google,” said Adam Petty, chief executive of VistaShares and manager of an ETF that tracks Berkshire’s largest holdings. “Perhaps this provides insight into how a portfolio might evolve over time.”

buyback disappointment

The pace of Berkshire’s share repurchases was a disappointment to some shareholders.

According to the earnings report, the firm repurchased $235 million of stock in the first quarter. The company had already disclosed that it bought $226 million of stock on March 4, so that means it only slightly increased its purchases as the quarter ended.

“The only missing piece was any real guidance on additional buybacks,” Petty said. “I was hoping they would be more aggressive about this.”

“I am disappointed by the lack of significant buybacks,” Czech said. “I think they’re waiting for a lower price, but they’ve bought too much at this valuation before.”

The crowd may still be adjusting to the Berkshire meeting without Buffett taking center stage. But after this first outing, investors seem more willing to give Abel the space and time to define the next chapter on its own terms.

“They actually included more businesses than ever before because before it was always Warren answering Warren’s questions,” said longtime shareholder Susan Chan, who decided to skip the meeting this year with her friend Wanda Lee. He watched it from Chan’s home in New Jersey, and found that the new format instilled confidence in Berkshire’s future direction. “And now, it’s really like ‘Our shareholders are our family. And we’re going to show you exactly what we’ve invested in and what we’re doing.'”

“We made a conscious decision not to go this year,” Chan said. “But we just said to each other, ‘Let’s go next year.'”