The Berkshire Beat: May 29, 2026
All of the latest Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway news!
(1) One of the risks of having a million Google News Alerts set up for Berkshire Hathaway and its sprawling constellation of subsidiaries and investments is that an important item occasionally slips through the cracks. In last week’s newsletter, I considered whether Warren Buffett might be responsible for the conglomerate’s new Delta Air Lines position. But the answer, it turns out, is no.
Buffett had already told the Wall Street Journal earlier in the week that the Delta buy was not his — though he has passed on investment ideas to new CEO Greg Abel since his retirement. Whether those have been acted on, though, was left unsaid.
In the same article, Delta CEO Ed Bastian admitted that he long hoped Berkshire would invest in his airline again one day. “That was always one of my checklist things,” he said, “to kind of get to the other side of [the pandemic] and see if there was a way that they would return.” Mission accomplished.
(2) The New York Times sat down with Bastian for a profile of its own — which also doubles as a useful introduction to one of Berkshire’s newest investments. Delta remains the most profitable domestic airline, in large part thanks to its intense focus on premium customers willing to pay more for better service.
“Our best customers,” said Bastian, “don’t even look at the price.” (If Delta — or any other Berkshire company — would like to sponsor this newsletter, I, too, promise not to look at the price before booking my next flight.) 😜
Bastian’s biggest fear, he told employees at a recent meeting, is complacency. “There’s only one thing that can stop us: We start to believe that we’re better [than everyone else].”
(3) Gen Re chairman Charlie Shamieh — widely reported to be Ajit Jain’s successor atop Berkshire’s insurance empire — keeps a pretty low profile. But, happily, he granted author Robert Miles a very rare interview for the 25th anniversary edition of The Warren Buffett CEO. “I’ve tried to learn as much as I can from Ajit,” said Shamieh. “I just hope I can do a fraction of what he has been able to do for Berkshire.”
More on Shamieh coming early next week.
(4) Markel CEO Tom Gayner, speaking at the Gabelli Omaha Value Investor Conference earlier this month, compared Berkshire’s balance sheet to the Rock of Gibraltar. When asked how capital allocation might evolve under this new regime, he marveled at the unparalleled optionality Berkshire’s cash affords it.
“I would expect that share repurchases will become a much more meaningful thing at Berkshire than has been the case in the past,” said Gayner. “I think the idea of a dividend is within the realm of possibility. I would not think of [initiating a dividend] as a negative signal in the sense that some people might.”
“Given that this world has surprises along the way that none of us can foresee, the opportunity for them to episodically and periodically apply big chunks of cash is real. That’s a substantial advantage for Berkshire.”
“At the same time, they have the ‘and’ capability. It’s not an either/or trade-off for them. They can chew into the share count by a meaningful percentage each and every year — and still maintain all of the financial flexibility that they have and will continue to have, given the levels of cash generation that the business does.”
(5) Gayner also weighed in on BNSF Railway — and made nearly the exact same AI-related points as Abel did the next day at Berkshire’s Q&A session. “Burlington Northern is thought to perhaps not be on the cutting edge of some of the things that are going on right now,” he told the Gabelli audience. “AI will be very helpful in allowing them to make those changes — in the same way that GEICO made some spectacular improvements in its efficiency under Todd Combs’s leadership.”
“But it won’t change the fundamental position of Burlington Northern in the landscape of industry,” continued Gayner. “The laws of gravity, physics, and weight still mean you’ve got to carry something that’s heavy from one place to another place. That’s not something that can be done by AI. The new acronym that’s being bandied about is HALO — Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence. The railroad would be an example of things where AI is going to be useful as a tool and create efficiency, but it won’t change the fundamental nature of the business.”
(6) Students from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business traveled to Omaha for the Berkshire annual meeting. And, even though Buffett was not on stage this year, this trip was less about seeing the Oracle and more about understanding the legacy he built over decades of patient stewardship.
“[Buffett] resonates because he offers a stable framework in a market that often rewards noise,” said MBA student Nathan Ingram. “Buffett makes the process feel simple — buy good businesses at sensible prices, think long-term — but he also emphasizes that ‘simple’ isn’t the same as ‘easy’. For students surrounded by hype, that combination is grounding: a decision process they can defend, an approach for thinking about risk, and a reminder that the real edge is temperament — patience, humility, and consistency — more than speed.”
(7) Squishmallows, already the largest plush toy franchise in the world, are branching out. Last year, Berkshire-owned Jazwares partnered with Blue Meadow Brands to create Squishmallows Fragrances — and these scents have been a big hit right out of the gate. According to Beauty Independent, a Squishmallows Fragrance product sells every seven seconds at Ulta Beauty.
Joel Ronkin, who oversees this fragrance line as CEO of Blue Meadow Brands, admits that its early success caught everyone off-guard. “Our business was so strong during the holidays [last year] that we really struggled keeping up with inventory,” he said, “so we’ll be more prepared for demand this time around.”
(8) Speaking of Jazwares, new CEO David Neustein sounded positively Buffett-esque when discussing tariffs and other geopolitical uncertainties at the Berkshire AGM. “As Warren would say, we believe in America,” he told Becky Quick. “Going into the 250th anniversary of this amazing country, there are always going to be some ups and downs and challenges. But what we need to do is be able to roll with that and, ultimately, to deliver product to our consumers and our fans around the world.”
(9) According to Reuters sources, Occidental Petroleum secured a 10% stake in Exxon Mobil’s deepwater exploration block off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. The acreage borders the legendary Stabroek Block, one of the most consequential offshore oil discoveries in recent history. The two areas reportedly share striking geological similarities, fueling hopes that UD(1) will also hold significant untapped resources. Exxon is currently running seismic surveys across the block and gathering data to determine whether or not to drill an exploration well.
(10) And, finally, a quick word of wisdom from Warren Buffett to send us into the weekend. Here, he perfectly captures the business-oriented mindset and detachment from market fluctuations needed to be an intelligent investor.
I agree with Tom Gayner’s comment on return of capital at Berkshire not being an either-or possibility, but something that can be done in addition to preserving tremendous dry powder for potential opportunities. And I personally hope that Abel and Buffett are buying back many billions worth of stock this quarter.