Classic Buffett
Every year, Berkshire shareholders flock to Omaha to attend the annual shareholder meeting. I mean, who wouldn’t? You get to see Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of all time, and his partner in crime, Charlie Munger, speak live about Berkshire’s performance and their thoughts on how the stock market is doing. However, it has been different nowadays. In 2020, Buffett addressed shareholders virtually from Omaha for obvious reasons. This year, Buffett held it in Los Angeles, and addressed some very interesting subjects regarding the financial markets.
On how Berkshire did, things were positive. Operating revenue and income were up compared to last year, and earnings per share turned positive. Buffett backed his decision to sell Berkshire’s stake in the airlines industry, saying that the government likely wouldn’t have given aid to the airline companies if Berkshire didn’t sell. Buffett also noted a mistake he made selling Apple shares last year. He trimmed a part of his investment and accepted that he shouldn’t have done it in the meeting, as he calls Apple’s products “indispensable”. From personal experience, I can tell you that an iPhone completely matches that description.
Like always, Buffett and Munger addressed the current market situations. However, with how crazy the financial markets have been in the past year, they addressed some new subjects. First, they encountered something we’ve all had in our minds in 2021: inflation. Buffett accepted that inflation is increasing substantially, citing that higher steel prices have impacted Berkshire’s housing business. Another key topic they touched was the rise in cryptocurrencies. Well, it was more of just Munger giving his opinion. Buffett decided to dodge the question to avoid backlash on his opinion. Munger was very blunt about it, saying that he hates cryptocurrencies. He dislikes the criminal activity involved with it, along with the fact that it is extremely volatile. Of course, there are also a lot of benefits to cryptocurrency, but people are entitled to their own opinion. Like always, this was a very informative meeting, and it was good to see Berkshire continuing to succeed. What do you think about the meeting?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
