Berkshire Seway (BRK.A-US) held its first physical shareholder meeting in 2019 on the 30th. Chairman Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger commented on inflation, stock market status, shareholding and other issues , the following are the six key points of this shareholders’ meeting.
Q1 stock market crash sweeps energy stocks
Berkshire bought more than $51 billion in stock during the first-quarter market rout, including large investments in Chevron, Hewlett-Packard and Occidental Petroleum, which now has a market value of $25.9 billion, the highest in Berkshire Four major investment targets.
Buffett bought a 14% stake in Occidental in March, and the position is now worth more than $7 billion. In total, Berkshire’s current position in energy stocks exceeds $40 billion.
Blizzard’s Operation and China’s Investment Opportunity
In the fourth quarter of last year, Berkshire spent $1 billion to buy stock on the eve of Microsoft’s announcement of its acquisition of Blizzard. Buffett said that the company was completely unaware of the merger news, but after the news broke, he continued to buy Blizzard’s stock because the price was still far below Microsoft’s acquisition price of $95 has now reached 9.5%, and a report will be released if it exceeds double digits in the future.
In addition, Munger told investing in Chinese concept stocks that modern people are more worried about China than 50 years ago, but he is willing to take the risk of Chinese government supervision and invest in these good Chinese companies at the current low price.
oppositebitcoin
Buffett emphasized,bitcoinWill not produce anything of value, and is reluctant to enter the market at a very low price; Munger also said that inflation is soaring and should not be purchased with retirement account moneybitcoin。
Buffett said bluntlybitcoinNext year, or even the next 5-10 years, is up or down, and what is very certain is that it will not generate any value. He believes that in order for an asset to be valuable, it must provide something substantial to others.
Criticize Wall Street
Buffett also made a series of criticisms of investment banks and brokerages. He said that the crumbs that Wall Street eats on the table of capitalism will not make money, but only take a share of the pie. When the market is keen to gamble, these investment banks take commissions. Earn more than you invest in a business.
Buffett said that large American companies have become chips on the gambling table. These brokerages and brokers use futures and options to bet against each other and make more money than simple stock investment.
Inflation
Buffett said that the impact of inflation today is not limited to stock market investors, bond investors, people who hide cash under the bed, almost everyone is “cheated” by inflation, and it also increases the demand for corporate capital. This is not As simple as raising prices to maintain profits, the best defense is self-improvement.
Inflation is also affecting Berkshire’s insurance, railway and consumer products businesses. Among them, the executives of Nebraska Furniture Mall, sports shoes Brooks, and ice cream brand Dairy Queen all pointed out that operations are challenged, including price increases affecting sales, original Material and salary pressure, etc.
Buffett stepping down?
The California Civil Service Retirement Fund, the largest pension fund in the United States, said earlier this month that it was concerned about Berkshire’s corporate governance and that it would vote in favor of the proposal to remove Chairman Buffett at this shareholders meeting, causing market discussions.
Munger criticized it as the most absurd allegation that some people have never run any business and have little knowledge of what is actually going on. In the end, the number of negative votes outnumbered the affirmative votes, and the proposal was not passed.