The Berkshire Beat: May 23, 2025
All of the latest Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway news!
Happy Friday and welcome to our new subscribers!
Special thanks, too, to those who recently became paid supporters! ❤️
Speaking of which… The annotated transcript for May will go out to paid subscribers on Tuesday morning (after the holiday weekend). This one is a Charlie Munger interview from 2019 that feels strikingly relevant in today’s hyper-polarized world.
Charlie, as always, delivers timeless wisdom on investing and life. And, in particular, cautions us about the corrosive effects of political hatred on the mind and spirit.
This interview not only includes a strong defense of Todd Combs and Ted Weschler’s work for Berkshire Hathaway, but one standout moment in which Charlie perfectly distills the essence of value investing.
You’ve got to remember that, in our way of thinking, all intelligent investment is value investment. Because why would you want to buy something which wasn’t worth as much as you were paying for it? And who wouldn’t like buying something for less than it’s worth? When people talk about [being a] value investor, you’re always a value investor.
So, if you’ve been on the fence about upgrading, there’s no time like the present.
Now, with that bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s move on to the latest news and notes out of Omaha…
Over the weekend, the Omaha World-Herald reported that Warren Buffett will NOT be on stage at future Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meetings. Instead, he will join his fellow directors on the arena floor and watch the proceedings like anyone else. His daughter, Susie, told the newspaper that this decision reflects her father’s wishes. “I’m not going to be up there,” Buffett reportedly told her. “I’m going to leave it to Greg.” This announcement, a full year ahead of the 2026 meeting, allows shareholders ample time to process the news and adjust their expectations for the event. Despite the on-stage change, the core elements of “Woodstock for Capitalists” will remain in place — like the signature Q&A session (headlined by new CEO Abel), a sales floor packed with Berkshire subsidiaries, the popular NFM picnic, the Brooks 5K on Sunday morning, and all the rest. Even so, this feels like the end of an era.
It’s a bittersweet, but perfectly logical bit of news. If Buffett continued to share the stage with Abel, he would undoubtedly cast an enormous shadow over his successor — maybe even muddying the waters as to who truly leads Berkshire. By stepping back, he sends an unequivocal message: As of January 1, 2026, Greg Abel is at the wheel in every possible way. It’s one last little vote of confidence that the 62-year-old Albertan is indeed ready to ascend the throne.
Susie Buffett also revealed that Warren informed her of his decision to retire “a month or two before the annual meeting”. And, she added, the entire Buffett family wholeheartedly supports it. “It’s way better this way.”
Soon-to-be CEO Greg Abel traveled to Japan this week to meet with executives from the five leading trading houses. All five companies — Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Mitsui, Itochu, and Sumitomo — confirmed to Bloomberg that they met with the Berkshire vice chairman during his trip. “I have been meeting with Mr. Abel on an ongoing basis, including during this visit to Tokyo,” said Mitsui president Kenichi Hori. “He has expressed support for our global strategic initiatives and we are engaged in various dialogues regarding potential future collaboration.”
Markel CEO Tom Gayner talked up Berkshire Hathaway’s post-Buffett future at the Acatis Value Conference in Germany. Notably, he is no mere casual observer here — but the man who made Berkshire stock the cornerstone of Markel’s portfolio. “[Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger] have laid out the playbook about how you should run Berkshire,” he said. “So Greg Abel does not need to make this up from day one. The path has been set and that will be true for Greg’s team and those who follow them — for, I think, a generation or two to come.”
Worried about that $328 billion cash pile? “Not at all,” said Gayner. “I would gladly take that. I think that cash might be under-appreciated, in the sense that there are things that might happen that might create the opportunity to take some very big swings.”
“The current condition [of not finding any elephants to invest in] is not permanent,” he added. “I expect them to deploy some of that capital over the course of the next 5-10 years. It is likely that they might start paying a dividend somewhere along the line — and the pace of share repurchases might increase.”
Gayner also explained why he is typically in no rush to sell his winners. “We now have about $8 billion of deferred gains in our portfolio of publicly listed stocks … If I sold some of that position now at a 25% tax rate, I then only have 75 cents on the dollar to reinvest in an alternative idea. You start a race on that original dollar you had. The 75 cents per dollar that you get after tax have to compound at a meaningfully faster rate than your original idea before you get even.”
Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader told Business Insider about the time he interviewed for his current job with Warren Buffett. Bader worried that the world-famous investment icon would pose tricky questions or adopt an intimidating demeanor — but, to his surprise, he met a man who was genuinely curious and eager to learn. “Warren is a constant learner,” said Bader. “He wants to know what you know and what he can learn from you.” This approach left a lasting impression on Bader, teaching him that everyone you meet has some unique wisdom to offer. And, above all, a manager’s passion for the business can often make all the difference. “[Warren] was digging for something more — that energy, that passion, that connection.”
Berkshire continues to own 27.5% of Kraft Heinz, but will no longer hold any seats on the company’s board of directors. On Tuesday, Alicia Knapp (BHE Renewables) and Tim Kenesey (MedPro Group) both stepped down from the Kraft Heinz board. “On behalf of the board,” said chairman Miguel Patricio, “I’d like to thank Tim and Alicia for their commitment and contributions to Kraft Heinz over the years. We greatly value our strong history with Berkshire Hathaway and look forward to continuing our relationship.” These departures are “not the result of any disagreement with management or the board related to [Kraft Heinz’s] operations, policies, or practices” — but rather reflect Berkshire’s decision to not place directors on the boards of its non-controlled investments.
Andrew Bary over at Barron’s says this may be the prelude to Berkshire selling some of its Kraft Heinz stock. “It’s easier for an investor to reduce a large stake when none of its representatives are on the company’s board because of restrictions on the timing of any stock sales.”
In the same press release, Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera announced that his company is “evaluating potential strategic transactions to unlock shareholder value”. He cautioned, however, that there is no guarantee that this will lead to any transactions — nor is there a specific timetable for the process.
And a few odds and ends to finish off the week…
BNSF Railway poured cold water on any talk of Class I railroad mergers. “For a merger to happen in today’s environment,” said spokesman Zak Anderson, “our customers, policymakers, and the communities we serve would need to indicate that they want to see additional mergers. We view it as unlikely as we aren’t hearing from our customers or the other constituencies that they want to see further consolidation in the industry at this point in time.”
Occidental Petroleum and Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC are exploring a joint venture to build a new Direct Air Capture plant in South Texas. XRG, the investment arm of ADNOC, could invest up to $500 million in the project.
Brandon Barkhuff has replaced Doug Cannon as CEO of NV Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Cannon’s departure comes amid allegations of overcharging customers — but it remains unclear whether or not that particular issue prompted the change in leadership at the utility.
In more Kraft Heinz news, the food and beverage giant will invest $3 billion to modernize its U.S. manufacturing facilities — in an effort to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen its competitive position.
One could hope for a cameo appearance and/or a private interview with Becky Quick away from the roaring crowd. Either would be hard to resist.
Probably he will give an interview after the meeting is over. Like Sue Buffett has said numerous times, he doesn't want to steal Greg's thunder. Berkshire is now HIS company to run. If Warren starts giving interviews before or during the meeting, people will concluded that he is still running the show.