Hi fellow investors,
This is Charlie Tian of GuruFocus again. Today I wanted to make a quick preview of some things to look for in the upcoming Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) meeting. The meeting would regularly be happening this weekend, but due to the coronavirus we are unable to attend in person. Normally we would also be hosting the GuruFocus Value Conference during the preceding days.
This year the meeting will be livestreamed and we will see Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), but will be missing Charlie Munger (Trades, Portfolio). In his place we will see Greg Abel, Berkshire’s vice chairman of non-insurance operations. Questions will be asked by Becky Quick, Carol Loomis and Andrew Sorkin. The entirety of the livestream can be watched on Yahoo Finance.
There are a few questions that I am interested in personally. The first and most obvious being the impact that the coronavirus has had on the business of Berkshire Hathaway and on the economy in general. I am interested to see what Buffett will have to say about that.
The second is in regard to earnings. Berkshire Hathaway had operating earnings of $24 billion even though the reported earnings were $81.4 billion. Most of those reported earnings were from the gain of the equity portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway.
The third question calls up the stock purchases that Berkshire Hathaway made during the financial crash in March. The market dipped 30% during this time and I am interested to see if Berkshire Hathaway purchased stocks.
The fourth and final question is about stock buybacks during this same period. Buffett used to say that if the price-book ratio of Berkshire Hathaway fell below 1.2, then he would buy back the stock, but today the ratio is actually less than 1.1. I am curious if Berkshire Hathaway has spent more money buying back their own stock.
As always, please leave any questions and comments you have below and I will answer them as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Charlie Tian
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