Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway

The conglomerate's large stock portfolio lost nearly $1.6 billion in the first three months of the year. But profits at its railroad, manufacturing and ...

What’s more, a number of large investors, including the giant California Public Employees Retirement Fund, backed a shareholder proposal that sought to remove Mr. Buffett, who is currently both chief executive and chairman of the company’s board of directors, from his chair role. When responding to the climate proposal on Saturday, he once again emphasized that Berkshire Hathaway Energy was making big investments in renewable energy projects. Mr. Buffett said on Saturday at the meeting that Berkshire had been buying shares of the video game company Activision Blizzard since Microsoft announced its plans to buy Activision on Jan. 18 and now holds a 9.5 percent stake in the company. A giant conference room floor was filled with booths highlighting Berkshire’s many companies, and offering discounts on things like boxes of See’s Candies, also owned by Berkshire. Mr. Buffett said on Saturday from the stage that See’s had brought 11 tons of candy to the shareholder meeting, and expected to sell out. The climate proposal last year had the support of many larger shareholders outside of Mr. Buffett’s inner circle, including BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street. The company’s financial filings also showed that Berkshire had dramatically increased its investment in the oil company giant Chevron to nearly $26 billion at the end of the first quarter, up from just $4.5 billion at the end of 2021. They say Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which manages a number of large utilities, has lagged rivals in setting plans to lower its emissions of carbon dioxide. The Buffett-fest is a daylong folksy affair, often called “Woodstock for Capitalists,” in which Mr. Buffett spends hours answering questions in front of a crowd in the city’s downtown 17,000-seat arena. Mr. Buffett, 91, faces a slightly more contentious annual meeting than usual, despite the fact that Berkshire’s shares, up nearly 8 percent this year, have outperformed the overall market, which is down 13 percent. That drop mirrored the performance of the stock market in general, which had its worst month in two years in April, and has been dragged down by investors’ fears about rising inflation and uncertainty caused by the Ukrainian war and the pandemic’s lingering impact on global supply chains. Last month, the company also bought $7 billion in shares of Occidental Petroleum. Those profits were also lower than the $6 billion that analysts had expected the company would earn in the quarter.

Judging by his investments in Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, Buffett seems to be focusing on "shareholder yield." Investors should pay attention.

This year, amid stormy investing seas, Buffett seems to be focusing on shareholder yield. That, of course, refers to Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.B) Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors in history. Why did Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Spend Billions on Chevron? Look at “Shareholder Yield.”

Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway investors a few details of how he spent more than $50 billion earlier this year and again reassured them that the ...

But part of what keeps her coming back year after year is the chance to reconnect with friends and fellow investors she’s met at past meetings. Buffett says that Berkshire's operating earnings are a better measure of the company's performance because they exclude investment gains and losses. Berkshire and Buffett, who controls 32% of the vote, opposed all the proposals partly because the company is so decentralized that it requires few centralized reports. He said all of Berkshire's companies are paying extraordinarily higher prices for raw materials and products, but inflation should have been expected after all the money the government sent out during the pandemic. They never sold the shares, which now sell for nearly $500,000 apiece. Berkshire also spent billions buying up 14% of Occidental Petroleum's shares in the first half of March, and added to its already massive investment in Apple stock. That’s down from $11.7 billion, or $7.638 per Class A share, a year ago. Both Buffett and his investing partner, Charlie Munger, reiterated their past criticisms of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin because they don't produce anything. “Berkshire is built to forever. Munger sat in a wheelchair during Saturday's meeting. There is no finish point,” Buffett said. Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway investors a few details of how he spent more than $50 billion earlier this year and again reassured them that the company he built will endure long after the 91-year-old billionaire is gone

Buffett took aim at investment banks and brokerage firms, saying they had turned Wall Street into a “gambling parlor.” “Wall Street makes money, one way or ...

They make a lot more money when people are gambling than when they are investing.” “They don’t make money unless people do things, and they get a piece of them. We’ve never figured out insights into the economy.”

Shareholders reject proposals for independent chair and greater disclosure of company's climate-related risks.

He owns approximately 16% of Berkshire’s stock. By approximately 3-to-1 margins shareholders also rejected proposals to have the company disclose more about the climate-related risks, greenhouse gas emissions and diversity efforts in its dozens of businesses. Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders on Saturday rejected proposals to have an independent chair replace W arren Buffett, and require his company to disclose more about its climate-related risks and efforts to improve diversity.

"If the deal with Microsoft goes through, we make some money," Buffett said.

Berkshire Hathaway has a 9.5% stake in Activision Blizzard, billionaire Warren Buffett revealed on Saturday at Berkshire's annual meeting. The big picture: Berkshire has been buying shares of the video game giant since January, when it bought stock just before Microsoft announced it had agreed to buy Activision for $68.7 billion in cash. Warren Buffett: Berkshire Hathaway has 9.5% stake in Activision