Greg Abel Kicks Off Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Meeting 5/1/26

Summary

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Squawk Pod Episode Summary

Episode: Greg Abel Kicks Off Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Meeting 5/1/26
Date: May 1, 2026
Host: CNBC (Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Joe Kernen)
Guests: Greg Abel (CEO, Berkshire Hathaway), Chris Davis (Chairman, Davis Advisors & Berkshire Board Director)

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Overview of the Episode

This episode captures the anticipation, conversation, and key strategic perspectives as Greg Abel presides over his first Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting after Warren Buffett’s six-decade reign. The discussion weaves through the significance of this transition, Abel’s vision and approach, perspectives on risk and inflation, company portfolio management, and Chris Davis’s candid thoughts on investing, private equity, and Berkshire’s enduring culture.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The New Era: Berkshire’s First Annual Meeting Without Warren Buffett (01:14–06:26)

• The Transition: For the first time in 60 years, Warren Buffett will not lead the annual meeting. Greg Abel steps in as CEO, inheriting both the tradition and a set of expectations from stakeholders.
• Preserving Legacy: Abel emphasizes maintaining “Warren’s amazing commitment to Berkshire” ([01:37], Greg Abel).
• Culture and Community: The annual meeting is known as the “Woodstock of capitalism,” and both the camaraderie among shareholders and ongoing demand for the event persist despite the leadership change ([06:26], Andrew Ross Sorkin, Becky Quick).

2. Shareholder Interest and Omaha Buzz (03:00–06:26)

• High Attendance and Brand Loyalty: Over 125,000 credentials requested, with some 30–40,000 expected attendees; brands like See’s Candies and Dairy Queen highlight the festive atmosphere.
• Shareholder Shopping & Socializing: See’s brought 11.5 tons of chocolate, Dairy Queen 26,000 frozen treats, and Brooks Running expects to sell 2,000+ pairs of shoes. The reunion vibe and “business as usual” persist ([03:00–06:26], Becky Quick).

3. Chris Davis on Berkshire’s Transition & Value Investing (06:32–13:31)

Berkshire’s Communication and Leadership Shift

• Expecting More Substance:
  “Nobody can communicate the way Warren can … [Abel's] a fabulous operator. There’s probably a pivot more towards information, substance about the businesses.”
  — Chris Davis, [07:25]
• Value Still Matters: Davis pushes back against recent periods of underperformance, citing cyclicality and the distortion in market indices ([08:08–08:42]).

Financial Sector as Next Mega Caps

• Financials’ Durability:
  “Financials have this characteristic where you get enormous durability … businesses where culture can be a defining advantage … yet people still trade them as if they're very fragile.”
  — Chris Davis, [09:05]
• Capital One as ‘Original Fintech’:
  “Capital One is a classic growth stock in disguise ... still run by the founder … better positioned for the advent of AI … trades at nine times earnings.”
  — [10:22]

Criticism of Private Equity & Activists

• Private Equity Concerns:
  “First come the innovators, then the imitators, and then the swarming incompetents. … It becomes a sales game … it’s a terrible idea and I think liquidity is mispriced today.”
  — [11:35–13:31]
• On Activist Proposals to Split Up Markel:
  “Going in and proposing to split up Markel is really one of the stupidest suggestions … a record of shareholder integrity, of long-term performance, of something built to last.”
  — [13:46]

4. Greg Abel’s Vision and Response to Change (19:08–33:28)

Commitment to Berkshire’s Legacy

• Continuity and Leadership Team:
  “I just want them to really know that Warren brought this amazing commitment to Berkshire and deep understanding and I want them to know that remains.”
  — Greg Abel, [19:25]
• Diversifying the Stage: Abel introduces key non-insurance managers to highlight depth of leadership ([20:10–21:02]).

Risk, Inflation, and Management Philosophy

• Risk Management:
  “My job is primarily one of risk management—to see around corners… what’s the risk today, but more importantly, what’s the risk five, ten years from now?”
  — [26:29]
• On Inflation:
  “It’s all manageable at this level. But we all know what’s happened to countries at the extreme levels … if it continues to compound, it gets very scary.”
  — [27:50]
• Sounding Boards: Greg regularly collaborates with Warren Buffett, Adam (NetJets), and other senior leaders for insight and feedback ([24:38]).

Portfolio and Succession

• Transition at Portfolio Companies:
  “Time always tells. But we’re excited by the leaders coming in and very supportive of what the prior two leaders had done. It’s remarkable what they’ve done with those two businesses.”
  — on Apple & Coca-Cola, [29:54]
• Abel’s Own Tenure:
  “My runway is really long. I love doing this … when you can find that right balance, it’s perfect … When I said 20 years in the letter, that would not surprise me.”
  — [30:21]

Lessons from Mistakes

• Pilot Deal Missteps:
  “We just recognized that we needed short term and long term objectives aligned if we're going to enter into a transaction ... that was a mistake we made for sure.”
  — [31:28]
• Learning on the Job:
  “Recognizing when we needed to make changes, we should make the changes ... How do we supplement it and make sure they're successful?”
  — [32:04]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Berkshire’s Transition:
  “The theme of this meeting is actually ‘the legacy continues’. That is what Greg Abel says he's committed to doing.”
  — Becky Quick, [03:00]

• On Value Investing Cycles:
  “You get these sort of cycles and we've been in a super cycle where the index valuation has gone higher and higher, the number of contributors has gotten narrower and narrower.”
  — Chris Davis, [08:08]

• On Long-Term Perspective:
  “It's one of the great advantages of age. You stop caring what other people think.”
  — Chris Davis, [15:45]

• On Commitment:
  “I want our shareholders to know there's absolute commitment and passion. … I love Berkshire and I see myself in this role for a long time.”
  — Greg Abel, [30:21]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Berkshire transition under Greg Abel: [01:14, 03:00, 19:08]
• On the mood and traditions in Omaha: [03:00–06:26]
• Chris Davis’s perspective on Berkshire’s evolution: [06:32–07:57]
• The role and future of financials (Davis): [09:05–10:16]
• On private equity pitfalls (Davis): [11:35–13:31]
• On activist threats to Markel (Davis): [13:46]
• Abel on risk management and inflation: [26:29–27:50]
• Portfolio management and CEO transitions: [29:15–30:03]
• Abel’s commitment and succession philosophy: [30:21]
• Lessons from past mistakes: [31:28–32:04]

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Tone and Takeaway

The conversation is candid, pragmatic, and rooted in Berkshire’s tradition of long-term thinking and transparency. Chris Davis brings sharp, occasionally irreverent opinions while Greg Abel projects continuity, humility, and operational depth. Both signal that even as eras shift, the core values—diligence, measured risk-taking, and owner-focused stewardship—endure.

If you missed the episode:
This summary delivers the high-level perspectives and sharp candid moments that reflect an historic handoff at one of the world’s most admired companies, contextualized by the voices guiding Berkshire into its next chapter.

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Transcript

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[Joe Kernan]

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[Narrator/Host]

This is Squawkpod and I'm CNBC producer Cameron Costa. On today's episode, we head to Omaha where the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting is just starting to get underway.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Where is Becky Quick?

[Becky Quick]

Hello everybody. I am here live at the Jazzware's booth, the maker of the Squishmallows.

[Narrator/Host]

It is the first year in 60 that Warren Buffett will not lead the Berkshire Hathaway Annual meeting. Berkshire's new new CEO Greg Abel will take the stage and some things will be different, but Abel says important things will stay the same.

[Greg Abel]

I just want them to really know that Warren brought this amazing commitment to Berkshire and deep understanding and I want them to know that remains.

[Narrator/Host]

In a sit down interview with Becky before the crowds file in, he discusses this new chapter of Berkshire number one.

[Greg Abel]

Very fortunate that Warren still comes into the office every day and he's a

[Narrator/Host]

great sounding board and longtime shareholder. And Berkshire board director Chris Davis joins us.

[Chris Davis]

Nobody can communicate the way Warren can

[Narrator/Host]

what he's expecting from Greg Abel this weekend.

[Chris Davis]

I think people will be recognized that sort of gradual transition from sort of opining on the world to what do we own? What are the advantages? What's the durability of the businesses plus

[Narrator/Host]

the stocks that get him excited. As chairman of Davis Advisors, Capital One

[Chris Davis]

is a classic growth stock in disguise. I mean imagine it's one of the largest banks in the country. It's still run by the founder.

[Narrator/Host]

It's Friday, May 1st and Squawk Pod begins right now.

[Joe Kernan]

Stand Andre by in three, two, one.

[Becky Quick]

You Andrew

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

Good morning and welcome to Squawk Box right here on cnbc. I'm Andrew Sorkin along with Becky Quick in Omaha this morning. Becky or Joe? And is off. But, Becky, you've got a whole lot of things going on at what is still the Woodstock of capitalism.

[Becky Quick]

Yeah, that's right. There's a lot here in Omaha, Nebraska. It's Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. This time comes around very quickly once again, Andrew. It looks a lot like it has for the last two decades here, but it is going to be pretty different this time around. And that's because for the first time in 60 years, it's not going to be Warren Buffett taking the stage on Saturday. This time it's Berkshire's new CEO, Greg Abel, and he'll be at the helm. He'll be answering questions. And the theme of this meeting is actually the legacy continues. That is what Greg Abel says he's committed to doing. Over 125,000 credentials were requested this year. That's about in line with what we saw in 2024. It is slightly down from last year, down by about 10% of those requests. Some 30 to 40,000 shareholders are expected to make their way here for tomorrow's Q and A sessions and for the shareholder shopping, of course, there's a lot of shopping to be had. See's candies brought 11 and a half tons of chocolate with it this time. That's a half ton more than they brought last year. Dairy Queen has over 26,000 frozen treats that they are waiting for people to snap up. Brooks Running is right here. It expects to see over 2,000 pairs of shoes. But there are a lot of questions that shareholders have as the company begins this new chapter. Berkshire has so many companies and we'll be speaking to the managers of lots of those companies, trying to get a feel for what this means right now, what the question for inflation is. Dig into a little bit more of that inflation question. We've got much more from Omaha throughout the morning. But for the moment, I will say, Andrew, you've been here a lot of times. You know what this place feels like so far. It feels like the same sort of vibe. But we will see what happens when the doors open later today and when we actually start to see shareholders here as well.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

I'm imagining, I mean, we've talked about this, I think, Becky, I'm imagining that it's going to be like a reunion, what it's become for so many people, a reunion. I mean, a lot of people go there, obviously, to see Warren and Charlie for so many years, but to some degree they go there to see each other. And I imagine that's one of the reasons that this is going to continue. I mean, people have built up friendships, but there is now, you know, conferences that shoulder this event. There's dinners and meals and all sorts of things. And so, you know, I know everybody has raised these questions about, you know, if Warren's not on the stage, what happens? But I don't know. We'll see.

[Becky Quick]

You and I have been talking about that off camera for a while and I think you're right. I think that idea that you first pointed out to me, it's the, the camaraderie that comes with these long term shareholders who have gotten to be friends and this has gotten to be something. And I know of several dinners that were already here last night. I know of a lot of breakfast and different things that began even this morning. Other conferences, as you said, that are brought up around that. And for the moment, that definitely is the feel I get being here on the ground. Also seeing how many tickets were requested. Now some people request those tickets within Nebraska because you can use them to go get discounts at the Nebraska Furniture Mart and different things. But they also, if you are looking at the hotels, the hotels are pretty fully booked. The number of airlines that are flights that are coming in on the airlines pretty fully booked at that point too. I know you couldn't get a car already if you were going to any of the car rental places over the last couple of, last couple of days. So, you know, for the moment, it seems like it is business as usual. And those crowds I anticipate will certainly be here this weekend.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

The Woodstock of capitalism. It continues.

[Becky Quick]

Joining us this morning here from the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting is Chris Davis. He is the chairman of Davis Advisors, which has more than $31 billion in assets under management. He's also a director here at Berkshire. He's a director at Coca Cola and oh, and Graham holdings, also another director on that board as well. Chris, I've known you for, I think, 15 years or something. I've never gotten the chance to interview you here from the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. So I'm excited about this. I really want to get your perspective as a Berkshire director, but as somebody who's been coming to the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting for What, more than 35 years at this point? Yeah. So a longtime Berkshire follower and kind of a loyalty, Berkshire visitor to this event. This is the first time in 60 years that someone other than Warren Buffett is going to be taking the stage and answering Shareholder questions. What do you expect? What do you anticipate? What do you want to see?

[Chris Davis]

Well, I think nobody can communicate the way Warren can. And so I think there's probably will pivot more towards information, substance about the businesses. And I think people will be recognized that sort of gradual transition from sort of opining on the world to what do we own? What is, what is the. The, what are the advantages? What's the durability of the businesses? How are they performing? And that is just Greg's wheelhouse. He's just a fabulous operator.

[Becky Quick]

Berkshire shares have underperformed the S&P 500. What do you think about the shape of the businesses right now? What do you want to hear? I mean, you probably know all of these things, but if you're the average shareholders who are sitting in the audience, what would you like?

[Chris Davis]

Well, I would just. I would just say, over what period? I mean, the s and P500 is such a peculiar distortion right now. You know, we sat out here in 1999 and everybody said, you know, Berkshire's dead. Values dead is a dinosaur. Why doesn't he just index? And, you know, you get these sort of cycles and we've been in a super cycle where the index valuation has gone higher and higher, the number of contributors has gotten narrower and narrower. So we're in a very distorted environment and I would give it some time to play out.

[Becky Quick]

Okay, you are somebody who considers yourself a value investor, but I think a value investor who's also looking for growth along the way. With this, I'm very interested in one of the storylines you've been pursuing in stocks, and that's the financials. We've been in this Mag 7 environment for so long. You're looking at the financials as the new mega caps for some of these reasons. Explain that.

[Chris Davis]

Well, I think that financials have this characteristic of where you get enormous sort of durability in the business model. And they're businesses where culture can be a defining business over a defining advantage over a long period of time. And I think what's happened is the financial crisis created this sense that financials are very fragile. And so capital ratios have been built, regulation has been added, just like happened after the crash and the depression in the 30s. So you now have very durable businesses that are well capitalized and yet people still trade them as if they're very fragile. So I think that what will happen over the next decade, people will come to recognize that this is misunderstood durability and that they in a sense have the ability to Grow their dividends for decades. And I think they'll go from being perceived as fragile to being perceived as boring. And I think that that's a very useful transition because as you know, utilities trade at about 20 times earnings. You know, lots of boring companies trade at these high valuations because people trust that they're not fragile. I think that's sort of what's in front for financials within that.

[Becky Quick]

You, Capital One in particular, I think you called this the original fintech stock.

[Chris Davis]

Yeah, well, Capital One is a classic growth stock in disguise. I mean, imagine it's one of the largest banks in the country. It's still run by the founder, right? Alexander Hamilton's not running the bank of New York and Mr. Wells and Mr. Fargo have moved on to greener pastures. But here you still have Rich Fairbank running Capital One. And absolutely, it was run from the beginning as a data science company, as a fintech company. It didn't have any branches, it didn't have, have any brands and built one of the great, great companies with this unique culture that is really data driven. And I don't know any company that is better positioned for the advent of AI and, and the in financial services than Capital One. And it trades at nine times earnings. I mean, it's just amazing to me to have those sorts of opportunities in a very expensive market.

[Becky Quick]

Chris, one of the things I love about you is you are opinionated and you, you don't mind sharing those opinions with people. I know recently you had some pretty strong things to say about the private equity markets. Getting retail investors kind of built into their business and having that lockup period for a long time. What's wrong with that? First of all, how do you feel about it overall?

[Chris Davis]

Well, you know, Bill Ruane was one of the great people I've known and he had a saying where he said first come the innovators, then the imitators and then the swarming incompetence. And this happens all the time in financial services where, you know, there's some innovation, there's some new way of doing things and you get really smart people achieving great results and then people that attracts attention and money starts buying in and all of a sudden it becomes a sales game and in the end it is just an asset gathering and usually it's the retail investor that gets left holding the bag. This happened with oil and gas partnerships in the 80s. You know, it's just sort of the last stop with all the crappy IPOs in the late 90s. They stick them into the widows and orphans. And I really see that in private equity you had wonderful, incredibly well run innovators that created that industry. And the industry has grown and grown and grown until really it's just they just sort of pass the potato, one company to another. I was actually talking to a young relative of mine who works at a quite a well regarded private equity firm and he just is getting his first deal in the portfolio. And I said, what is it? He said, you know, it's this weird sort of host homeware, housewares company. And he said, we're the third owner in private equity. I think the juice is out of that lemon and they just add more leverage. And so what's happened is liquidity is drying up, less money's coming in there. So what are they doing? Let's try to stick it to the retail investors. And I think that is really disgraceful. I think you have people with their life savings being put into products that really are to allow exits for the more sophisticated investors. So I think it's a terrible idea and I think liquidity is mispriced today. I think people should want to be able to change their minds.

[Becky Quick]

Let me ask you about one more thing I know you're kind of fired up about today and that is an activist investor going after Merkel, which is a company that your grandfather invested in and you've known very well for what, 40 years at this point?

[Chris Davis]

Yeah, we've been invested in Markel since it came public. And in fact I met the now CEO when he was still a crank in the investment department because we were sitting next to each other at the Orpheum theater in Omaha 35 years ago at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in like 1991. And what was clear was this was a company that had this profound sense of integrity and was studying Berkshire and studying the idea of what had made Berkshire what it is and come to the conclusion there are no shortcuts. There are lots of imitators of Berkshire, but they wanted to build a company with insurance as their base, which they had, but recognized that they should have these three legs of the stool, investing, wholly owned businesses and insurance. And this activist investor comes in and says, oh, it should be split up. And it's really again the innovators. In the beginning there was a useful role for activists that has just become an asset gathering industry. I think it's outrageous that corporate pension plans, for example, are even invested with these sorts of funds. They are actually a cancer in the, in the corporate governance business because what they really are is short term investors. And I saw an activist get into Texas Instruments that's been incredibly well run for 25 years, but makes long term investments and they get in there and say, no, stop that and you know, just dividend out the money. And going in and proposing to split up Markel is really one of the stupidest suggestions that I've seen made in, in the last 10 or 20 years. That is a record of shareholder integrity, of long term performance, of something built to last. And these guys are just trying to get a short term pop by selling off businesses with real workers that have created real value for sharehold.

[Becky Quick]

Chris, I think you might be able to fill Charlie's seat on the stage in terms of making sure there's a moral authority in somebody who says exactly what they think about things here.

[Chris Davis]

It's one of the great advantages of age. You stop caring what other people think.

[Becky Quick]

What did your daughter say to you yesterday?

[Chris Davis]

She said, I've run out of something, you know, but maybe it filters.

[Becky Quick]

You have zero somethings. Is that what you're saying? Well, we love that and it's great to see you here. Thank you so much for taking the time today.

[Chris Davis]

Thank you so much, Becky. I'm glad to be here.

[Narrator/Host]

Tease will be next, coming up on Squawk Pod.

[Becky Quick]

Hi, Tori, how are you?

[Greg Abel]

Good. Excuse when I see you. Thank you. What you do?

[Narrator/Host]

Becky sits down with Greg Abel, the first new face leading Berkshire's annual meeting. After 60 years of Warren Buffett, Greg Abel is in it for the long haul too.

[Greg Abel]

My Runway's really long. I love doing this.

[Narrator/Host]

And what Berkshire's many, many companies tell him about the inflation picture, it's all

[Greg Abel]

manageable at this level. But we all know what's happened to countries at the extreme levels. And post Covid, we hit some pretty high levels. When we're at that 8 to 9% level, that's pretty alarming. And it adjusted down. So if it gets the levels and then it continues to compound, it gets very scary.

[Narrator/Host]

Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO kicking off the 6 61st annual meeting right after this.

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[Becky Quick]

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[Andrew Ross Sorkin]

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[Greg Abel]

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[Chris Davis]

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[Chris Davis]

AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything.

[Narrator/Host]

Welcome back to Squawkpod from cnbc. Here's Becky Quick.

[Becky Quick]

Greg, first of all, thank you for having us here at what is the first meeting of the new Berkshire. First time in 60 years that they have a new CEO who's heading up this meeting. What is this like for you? You've been doing this for so long, but what is this like for you this first time out?

[Greg Abel]

Well, thank you for being here and we're so excited to be here in Omaha. So it is a great tradition and yes, first time in 60 years. Fortunately Warren will be a part of it and we're excited by that. And what I really want to communicate to we have our owners here and these couple days are especially on Saturday, it's Owner's day. It's their day. So I just want them to really know that Warren brought this amazing commitment to Berkshire and deep understanding and I want them to know that remains that there's a team, myself included, that are absolutely committed and have a Deep understanding of Berkshire and we bring that same passion every day.

[Becky Quick]

What's going to be different at the meeting this year?

[Greg Abel]

Anything or there's some just evolution as I think hopefully our owner shareholders enjoy. So one of the things we'll be doing is introducing some other managers and that was very purposeful because when you walk around here in all these businesses we have exceptional leadership in the businesses and we very much operate at where this ownership mentality, it's their businesses. But what we want is to on stage let all the owners, all the shareholders, those watching cnbc start to see the depth of management in Berkshire.

[Becky Quick]

How did you pick the managers? And I understand Adam because he's obviously in this new management role. Katie Farmer's going to be on stage too. What made you get to those people that you begin bringing up?

[Greg Abel]

So it started with the thought that on the insurance side we have a Jeep.

[Becky Quick]

Yep.

[Greg Abel]

But even, even someday we'll, we'll add an insurance manager and things like that. Because the idea was if you think of start with insurance there's no one better than Ajit and, and the world needs to hear him and see him. But equally we have a deep team there and that's something I've been so excited by. When Warren made the announcement last May, as we all know, the first thing he did was pull together the senior team, the senior leaders on the insurance side. And it was a small meeting in Omaha. Warren, I, Ajit and say five other of the senior leaders in insurance. But Warren was very open about okay, this is our new team. I was the first to say I've got a lot to understand and learn. I had some knowledge from spending a lot of time with Ajit and being on certain boards. But that was really exciting and to see the depth of that team was just. It felt really good to know who was behind Eugene and then so I had that opportunity and then when it came time on the non insurance really focused on one atom and as much in that he brings a wealth of experience from NetJets and he's remaining our CEO there because we still want him to have his fingerprints on it. But he's got an exceptional team. But as he took on the 32 teams, as you've already highlighted, that was a logical outcome. Katie is our largest non insurance business so it was logical to introduce her. She runs an amazing business. 175 trains moving a day across 32,000 miles. 32,500 operationally and serving many, many different types of customers from agriculture to moving the intermodal Traffic, we do. So she's got a breadth of responsibilities. And I just wanted our shareholders to meet them and hear what they do every day.

[Becky Quick]

I know it's right ahead of earnings. So you're in a quiet period. There's some things you can't say. But how has the war in the Middle east, higher energy prices impacted the company? How do you deal with it?

[Greg Abel]

Yeah, I mean, fortunately we do have a team and teams, it can be a variety of things that surface daily, quarterly, in an annual basis. Always very proud of them. I mean it's heads down and we're going to work our way through this. So you're right. With energy costs going up. For example, if you think of our chemical businesses, we have Louversol. We have, we just completed the oxychem transaction on January 2nd. We close that and then we have a third one called lspi. And I like to think of them as our chemical group. Their inputs went up immediately. Now that takes time for us to catch up on pricing because we have customer contracts and they do reset and it's a bounce and on the back end they'll be a little slower to correct. So there's a way to adjust for price appropriately and fairly for both the customer and us. But that takes time. So I would say the biggest thing is we see some immediate increase in the input costs across certain businesses.

[Becky Quick]

Okay, back to Adam. You know, people wonder who your sounding board is. Warren had Charlie, Warren had you. Who do you get to talk to to kind of bounce ideas off of or be a steadying force when you get questions yourself.

[Greg Abel]

Yeah. So number one, very fortunate that Warren still comes into the office every day and he's a great sounding board. I mean that's really. There's a lot of collaboration now and there's always been. But I'm going to call them or I'm in Omaha a few days a week and then I'm on the road like I've always been meeting with our other businesses or looking at certain opportunities. But when I'm here, it's a discussion around what we're seeing. Him and I how do things feel? What do I see as opportunities? What's he seeing as an opportunity? And so one exceptional sounding board. There's no question. I talked to Adam not just about his businesses, but what are we seeing again, where are potential opportunities? And I've really tried to have that type of engagement for a number of years with our non insurance operations. But if you go to our taught businesses, they're very senior business leaders. In themselves. And I, I greatly value hearing what they're seeing. What are they hearing from their suppliers? What are they hearing from their customers? Yeah, because it has a. So, so it's just gaining, gathering that knowledge is sort of on a continual basis from a, a broader breadth than say just a Charlie. But that would be. I'm fortunate to have that.

[Becky Quick]

That broader group you wrote in the annual letter, which by the way was really comprehensive, had a ton of information, I think, updating people about where things stand as the company. What you would want to know if you're an owner in the company. But you wrote in it that your job is primarily one of risk management, to kind of see around corners. How do you do that? Because when I think risk management I always think of Jamie Dimon or somebody who's really involved with the financials. But you're right, there's a lot of things you have to know in every one of these businesses. How do you stay on top of that?

[Greg Abel]

Yeah. So one, fortunately, having run the non insurance operations for eight years and know those leaders well, we always start discussing what the challenges are. What, what's the risk today? But more importantly, what's the risk five years, ten years from now? What, what, what's worrying them? How is their customer changing? And that's a constant dialogue. So let's what there's broader risks that you start to see surface. And then when I was with the insurance team, that first meeting was all a discussion around risk. Yes, we have to get pricing right to the risk, but what are the risks and not the risks that year? What are we seeing the risk five and ten years from now? And if you go to insurance, for example, and it's a risk in a lot of our business businesses, for example inflation. So we're very aware of that. We're watching it across our businesses. We want to understand what, what it does to our business is. But business as a whole in Berkshire and. And then it goes from there.

[Becky Quick]

Inflation's been stubborn even before the war with Iraq, with Iran. Sorry, I said Iraq.

[Greg Abel]

Yeah.

[Becky Quick]

But inflation's been stubborn even before that. Now you have more inflation. How or when does that become a problem that you worry about?

[Greg Abel]

Well, I think we worry. Listen, at these levels and the 2% goal and we're at 3 and potentially creeping up a bit. We'd prefer to clearly see that the two, as would the American consumer in every business. But the reality is there's going to be some. It's all manageable at this level. But we all know what's happened to countries. When it gets at the extreme levels and post Covid, we hit some pretty high levels. When we're at that 8 to 9% level, that's pretty alarming. And it adjusted down. So if it gets the levels and then it continues to compound, it gets very scary at those type of levels.

[Becky Quick]

Yeah. All right, let's talk a little bit about the portfolio. And you addressed this in the letter as well. You said that of the $300 billion stock portfolio, look, about 200 billion of it is stuff that's pretty steady, pretty staid. Four big stocks, I think it was Apple, Amex, Coca Cola and Moody's and then you had the Japanese trading houses that were there. And part of the reason you said this is because you understand the business and you know the leaders very well. The leaders of two of those companies are stepping down. Tim Cook and James Quincy from Apple and Coca Cola, respectively. Have you met with the new CEOs, have you spoken with them? And do you feel good about where things stand with those two big investments?

[Greg Abel]

So those are. We will be meeting with the leaders, in fact, in this coming week with both of them. The incoming and unfortunately, the change. But that happens.

[Chris Davis]

And.

[Greg Abel]

But what we. What we do believe in, and I believe that's what we had, we. We know the quality of those leaders. We know the quality of the businesses. The. The boards are exceptional. They're going to have thought this through very clearly and have the right leader. And time always tells. But the reality is we're excited by the leaders coming in and very supportive of what the prior two leaders had done. It's remarkable what they've done with those two businesses.

[Becky Quick]

Yeah. It's kind of surprising because we've heard of so many CEOs who have stepped down that have been really young. James Quincy's only 60. I know he's younger than you are.

[Greg Abel]

Yeah, I know he's younger. I know I reminded him of that. When he told me he was going to step down, I said, you've got more years. Come on. But the reality is we all have our own timelines.

[Becky Quick]

Yeah. Tim Cook's less than two years older than you are. But. And I know you addressed this in the letter, too, but how long do you see yourself doing this? What's your Runway?

[Greg Abel]

Yeah, my Runway is really long. I love doing this. And like Warren, we're passionate. And as I said right from the get go, I want our shareholders to know there's absolute commitment and passion. And I have a great family, and I prioritize my Family and I prioritize Berkshire and I know how to find the balance. And, and with those two things, I'm really happy. Do I have time for friends and the odd activity? Sure. But it's when you know how to. At least I believe that when you can find that right balance, it's perfect. And so I don't. I wouldn't. When I said 20 years in the letter. Yeah, that would not surprise me. But that's up to our board, obviously, and our shareholders and we have to be doing a great job. But I love Berkshire and I see myself in this role for a long time.

[Becky Quick]

It's great. One more point. In the letter, you talked about an issue that had happened with Pilot, where you all bought into pilot in 2017. You didn't get to really fully manage the place until 2023. You said, that's not a mistake that we'll make again. What other mistakes have you learned from? Because you're new to the CEO role, but you've been doing this a long time.

[Greg Abel]

Yeah, yeah. And on that one, I want to. Because. Because it was a mistake we made for sure. Not. Not that Pilot made any mistakes or it was their problem. We just recognized that we needed short term and long term objectives aligned if we're going to enter into a transaction where there's a period of time. Okay. It was really that simple. And I didn't see that alignment. And I think we talked earlier. We're working hard to improve the customer service side on Pilot. We just always want those objectives aligned when we're entering into a transaction.

[Becky Quick]

Meaning making sure that you're continuing to invest in the business and it makes sense.

[Greg Abel]

Correct in the right way. So then the things I, over the years, I mean, I was fortunate all the way back to 1996. I went to the UK as a CEO of our utility business there, larger than the utility I across the river in Iowa. We had 1.3 million customers. We drew it to 2, but that was a big learning moment for myself. But probably the first thing there, for example, was recognizing when we needed to make changes, we should make the changes. And there we recognized that environment within the business was changing very quickly. It was going from being a heavily regulated business to an unregulated business. So we needed skill sets that we probably didn't bring into the business quick enough. So forever I watch how the businesses are evolving. Yes, we've got great teams, but how do we supplement it and make sure they're successful? That was a great lesson very early in my career that's great.

[Becky Quick]

Greg. We're excited to see what happens this weekend. I want to thank you for your time ahead of this.

[Greg Abel]

Well, thank you for being here. I look forward to the the questions on Saturday. It's always a great opportunity though. All that gets submitted into you and then obviously receiving them from our shareholders and owners. So thank you and we look forward to a great Saturday.

[Becky Quick]

Thank you Greg.

[Greg Abel]

Thank you.

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