Six key issues "preparing lessons" Buffett's shareholder meeting is interesting and professional

Buffett and Munger

On May 6th, the annual Buffett Shareholders' Meeting will be held. Are you ready for the so-called "Woodstock of CA pitalism: the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Woodstock?" Buffett will deliver a speech to thousands of shareholders at the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha.

The current Berkshire Hathaway B-type stock price ticker symbol BRKB) is more affordable, at $165 (/per share), but its unsplit A-share (stock code BRKA) price is as high as 248,000. Dollar! Even if you don't own the company's stock, you should go and the Berkshire shareholder meeting is always worth a look.

Buffett and Charlie Munger, who has long served as vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, will discuss their views on the market and the economy, as well as answer investors' questions about companies, stocks and politics. It is expected that their speech will be like the past. The same draws countless laughter.

Buffett and Munger are like a couple who have been married for many years. They often talk about the same jokes and can't help but laugh. In four small lectures, you may be able to pay attention to their speech in the following six things.

1. Is Wells Forgo still okay?

One of Berkshire Hathaway's most-owned companies, but the recently troubled Wells Fargo Bank has attracted everyone's attention. The bank changed its CEO after exposing the fake account scandal.

It is reported that Berkshire Hathaway holds approximately 473 million shares of Wells Fargo. Berkshire Hathaway recently had to sell a small portion of Wells Fargo’s stock to keep its shareholding below 10%, which is the limit set by the Fed for outside investors.

But some investors are surprised that Buffett has not strongly criticized Wells Fargo. It is well known that when Buffett and the US Congress discussed the scandal of the investment bank Salomon Brothers in 1991, he severely expressed his dissatisfaction with the reputation of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett told CNBC last November that he supported the new CEO, Tim Sloan, and is still optimistic about the future of Wells Fargo.

However, in the past few years, several shareholders have questioned Buffett’s ethical issues. Buffett was hired as a partner of private equity firm 3G, but the company is often criticized for the company that it acquired.

Some investors have also questioned Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings of private equity firm Clayton, a long-established private equity firm, which has been controversial because of foreclosures. It is intended to target borrowers of ethnic minorities. However, Buffett’s repeated defense of 3G and Clayton’s holdings on different occasions is controversial.

2. Can the airline "take off"?

Since Berkshire announced the holding of shares in four major US airlines - United Airlines (UAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), American Airlines (AAL), and Southwest Airlines (LUV) Buffett’s view of the aviation industry has undergone some changes last year. However, this industry has recently been criticized by outsiders for its customer service issues.

Recently, United Airlines apologized for forcibly dragging a passenger who did not want to leave. Due to weather problems, Delta Airlines has cancelled thousands of flights last month, but it has been criticized for dealing with this issue.

So Buffett is now supporting another industry that is in trouble. Some investors may ask him if he has confidence in the industry, or more specifically, whether he should default on the bad behavior of the industry by continuing to hold shares in these airlines.

In addition, Buffett’s time to enter the industry is a bit late. After years of low fuel prices, upward adjustments and rectifications, the industry's profits may have reached its peak. Southwest Airlines is the only rising stock in the aviation stocks held by Buffett.

3. Will you marry Trump?

As a public supporter of Hillary, Buffett was asked at last year's shareholders meeting whether he worried that Trump would have an impact on his stock after his election. Buffett sarcastically responded that Trump would not have any impact on his portfolio.

But Buffett’s attitude has since eased since then, and shortly after the election he told CNN that he supported Trump – just like supporting others to be presidents. Buffett even pointed out that if Trump invited him, he would be happy to provide advice and advice.

The stock price of Berkshire Hathaway has risen more than 12% since the beginning of November last year, slightly higher than the broader market. So it would be interesting to hear Buffett talk about the current view of Trump.

4. Who is the next Berkshire Hathaway CEO?

Buffett will be 87 years old in August, and Munger is 93 years old. Even when Berkshire hosted the 2027 meeting, the two living treasures were still alive, but whether they are still leading the company is a big question mark.

Buffett and Munger have strongly recommended Berkshire Hathaway's insurance expert Ajit Jain and energy chief consultant Greg Abel as the CEO's leader.

Investment advisers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs are likely to continue to manage Berkshire Hathaway's investment business.

In other words, there are multiple candidates who succeed Buffett. So investors may want a clearer succession plan to come out.

5. What is “iBuffett” (refers to the investment trend of technology stocks)?

As everyone knows, Berkshire Hathaway holds four well-known companies, namely Wells Fargo, IBM, Coca-Cola and American Express. At the same time, Berkshire currently holds a significant share of Kraft Heinz.

However, Berkshire Hathaway also rushed to buy shares in Apple, ranking sixth in its portfolio.

Apple's shares account for 5.5% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Will Buffett continue to increase his holdings? Despite Buffett’s personal friendship with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is it possible that Apple’s shares will one day squeeze into the top five Berkshire investments?

Buffett, we know that he is a newcomer to the technology industry. So if a shareholder asks him what is the specific reason for Apple, it will be interesting.

One possible reason is that Apple, as a leading market company with a strong balance sheet and a reasonable valuation, is still too cheap – even if Buffett doesn’t use the iPhone to send Facebook and watch YouTube videos, he may know this point.

6. Will there be more transactions? Buffett likes to look for "bargains."

In 2009, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe, a deal that was interpreted by Buffett as "all-in" for the US economy. Note.

In 2013, Berkshire Hathaway first purchased the food giant Heinz, and then reorganized it with Kraft in 2015 to form Kraft Heinz. The newly formed Kraft Heinz Company tried (but failed) in 2017 to persuade Unilever (UL) to conduct a transaction of more than $140 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway also purchased the American battery manufacturer Duracell from P&G PG in 2014. In 2015, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. made the largest annual deal, $32 billion, to acquire aircraft parts manufacturer Precision Castparts.

(As of April this year) Buffett has almost no "buy". In his annual shareholder letter, he stated that Berkshire Hathaway had approximately $86 billion in cash available for any transaction.

Investors are imagining a large M&A plan that could reach $100 billion. And Berkshire's shareholders are eager to get Buffett's purchase list, and Buffett personally confirms some potential purchase targets in his wish list. (double knife)