Just now, the "God of Stocks" responded! The "Spring Festival Gala of the Investment Circle" was staged tonight

The annual Spring Festival Gala of the investment community is here!

On May 3, local time, the annual "Spring Festival Gala of the investment community" - the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting of Shareholders opened. As of press time, the Q&A session of Berkshire's shareholders' meeting, which is the most concerned by the market, has begun, and the Securities Times will continue to report on it, so stay tuned.

Before the Q&A began, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway released its report for the first quarter of 2024, thanks to the excellent performance of heavy stocks, Berkshire's revenue and profit exceeded market expectations, and cash reserves also hit a record high.

It is worth noting that the market value of Apple's holdings held by Berkshire in the first quarter has shrunk significantly from the end of last year, by about 22%, while Apple has fallen by nearly 11% in the same period, which means that Buffett may be further reducing his Apple position in the first quarter. However, in the shareholder Q&A session just now, Buffett said that Apple is very likely to remain Berkshire's largest single stock at the end of 2024.

Earn $12.7 billion in a single quarter or reduce its holdings in Apple

According to the latest financial report disclosed before the annual shareholders' meeting, Berkshire Hathaway achieved revenue of $89.869 billion in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the consensus of $87.04 billion, an increase of 5.2% from $85.39 billion in the same period last year, net profit attributable to shareholders of $12.702 billion, the consensus of $9.892 billion, compared with $35.504 billion in the same period last year, and operating income of $11.22 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 32% from the previous quarter.

Screenshot of the Berkshire Quarterly

It is worth noting that in the financial report, Berkshire's cash reserves reached a record high of $189 billion in the first quarter.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, the fair value of Berkshire's investments in fixed-income securities reached US$17.167 billion, of which the fair value of investments in U.S. bonds, foreign bonds, and corporate bonds was US$4.503 billion, US$10.997 billion, and US$1.429 billion, respectively.

Specifically, Berkshire Hathaway's net profit has risen sharply, thanks to the continuous improvement of operating profit. The operating profit of Berkshire's railway, energy and other entities reached $11.222 billion in the first quarter, compared with $8.065 billion in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 39.1%. Berkshire's insurance underwriting business saw a significant increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year, while the operating profit of other businesses (railroads, utilities and energy; manufacturing, services and retail, etc.) was relatively stable.

In terms of investment income, the rise in U.S. stocks in the first quarter brought Berkshire's investment income to $9.7 billion in the first quarter. In the first quarter, Berkshire earned $8,825 per share of Class A common stock, compared to $5.88 per share of Class B common stock. Berkshire's total assets in the first quarter were $1,070.035 billion, a further increase from $1,069.978 billion at the end of last year. In the second quarter of last year, Berkshire's total assets exceeded the $1 trillion mark for the first time.

In addition, as of March 31, 2024, approximately 75% of the fair value of Berkshire Hathaway's equity investments were concentrated in five companies: Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Chevron. Among them, the market value of American Express is $34.5 billion, Apple's market value is $135.4 billion, Bank of America is $39.2 billion, Coca-Cola is $24.5 billion, and Chevron is $19.4 billion.

The market value of Apple's holdings in Berkshire has shrunk significantly from the end of last year, falling by $38.9 billion, or about 22%. This may be related to the pullback in Apple's stock price, but Apple has fallen nearly 11% in the first quarter, which means that Buffett may be further reducing his position in Apple in the first quarter. However, during the shareholder Q&A session, Buffett said that Apple is highly likely to remain Berkshire's largest single stock at the end of 2024.

Berkshire Hathaway's filings for the fourth quarter of last year show that Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings of Apple by 10 million shares. In the first quarter, Berkshire sold a total of $19.972 billion worth of stocks, bought $2.691 billion, and sold a net $17.281 billion.

Warren Buffett has long viewed his vast business empire as a barometer of the health of the U.S. economy. Investors will continue to pay attention to Warren Buffett's predictions for the state of the U.S. economy. Last year, Warren Buffett predicted that most of Berkshire Hathaway's businesses would see earnings decline as the U.S. economy nears the end of an "incredible period." Berkshire Hathaway's operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year was $8.48 billion, up from $6.63 billion a year earlier.

The general meeting of shareholders is held

This Saturday is not only the day Berkshire Hathaway announces its first-quarter results, but also the day the company holds its shareholder meeting. This is the only time a year that shareholders have the opportunity to ask Warren Buffett and his deputies about the company's vast business. At Berkshire Hathaway's shareholder meeting, which Buffett described as the "Woodstock festival of capitalists," shareholders will have four hours and 45 minutes to ask questions. The Securities Times will continue to report, so stay tuned.

The market expects investors' questions to focus on the following areas, including: Warren Buffett's succession. Greg Abel was named Buffett's successor in 2021 and is expected to serve as CEO. In addition, shareholders are showing strong interest in how Berkshire Hathaway can respond to the challenges ahead, including how it can grow without paying exorbitant acquisition fees, whether the company will pay dividends, and how it can effectively use its large cash reserves. Shareholders may also be interested in Buffett's investments in Apple, Occidental Petroleum and five Japanese trading companies.

In addition, investors may also ask questions about climate risk and wildfire risk, as Berkshire Hathaway's Pacific Utilities faces liability claims for the 2020 Oregon fires, which could amount to billions of dollars. In a recent shareholder letter, Buffett warned that he no longer believes it is safe to invest in Western utilities given the risk of wildfire liability claims, and acknowledged that it was a "costly mistake" not to foresee the spike in these fees.

In addition, this will be Berkshire Hathaway's first shareholder meeting after the death of Buffett's friend Munger. What Warren Buffett will say about Munger is also expected to be the focus of attention.

Editor-in-charge: Wan Jianyi

Proofreading: Liao Shengchao

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