Attending a Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting is akin to a pilgrimage for investors seeking wisdom from arguably the most celebrated names in the world of finance, Warren Buffett and the late Charlie Munger. Held in Omaha, Nebraska, this event is more than a standard review of financials; it’s a festival celebrating the culture and the success of Berkshire Hathaway. Shareholders from around the globe convene, eager to absorb knowledge from the Q&A session, where Buffett and previously Munger would offer their insights into investing, economic trends, and life lessons.
This was my second trip to Omaha, my first being the 2023 meeting. My experience at the 2024 meeting was fun but just as tiring, not just hearing Warren Buffet talk but also for the wide range of people you can meet at the event in the early morning. The atmosphere is filled with anticipation as investors old and new line up early in the morning to get seats, my Uber told me he drove people to the event at 2 AM. I showed up around 5 AM because I know the line gets crazy long closer to when doors open and its one of the few times, I can have a shared experience with people from all over the world that we can connect over.
Berkshire Hathaway Meeting Overview
This gathering, often dubbed the “Woodstock for Capitalists,” lived up to its reputation for scale and range of people who show up. At the event I was able to meet Omaha natives, students from Norway, engineers from Germany, fund managers from the Carribean, investors from Canada, and so many more people. All walks of life were in Omaha for the meeting, which I believe is an amazing reason to go.
Event Schedule and Key Highlights Friday and Saturday
The Exhibit Hall boasted displays from Berkshire’s various holdings, providing an experience or products to try from the vast portfolio which is available Friday & Saturday. This is very fun for those with a sweet tooth or just looking to learn more about what is in the portfolio of companies outside of the publicly traded positions. Everyone working the booths can tell you more about the business represented at the booth and their experience working there.
My Friday Highlights:
- Wait in line for passes, a common occurrence if you do not receive the passes in the mail
- Eat DQ Dilly Bars in the Exhibit Hall while checking out the different portfolio companies
- Pretend to be Maverick while using the flight simulator to fly between buildings both upside down and sideways. Doing barrel rolls and drawing a crowd was pretty cool
- Buy See’s Candy for friends and family and a commemorative shirt for myself
- Towards the end of Friday, I got to meet Greg Abel briefly and take a photo with him
My Saturday Highlights:
- Get in line at 5 AM to give my dad the same experience I had last year. It is fun to talk to everyone around you and talk about experiences on why and how they are there
- Tribute to Munger with previous year’s videos and a special video made by Warren
- Brief quarterly earnings conversation, this year was very cool as Tim Cook was present for when it was disclosed that Berkshire reduced its Apple position
- The Q&A session, broadcasted by CNBC. The audience questions tend to be lower caliber questions compared to those asked by Becky Quick
- The actual shareholder meeting where propositions for the company are voted on. Usually these are all voted against but still fun to watch
Themes and Discussions of 2024 Meeting
This year’s meeting had a strong focus on succession planning, with the Vice Chairs playing a significant role in the proceedings. During the Q&A segment, shareholders were keen on understanding the strategies steering Berkshire Hathaway forward in a post-pandemic economy.
Discussion Themes:
- Insurance business growth and how insurance revenue is recognized
- Memories of Munger
- Technological innovations in business
The questions about Munger were inevitable however some of them felt too personal and emotional, especially the question from the young kid asking, “if Warren had one more day with Munger, what would he do?” There were better questions that I believe why people show up to the Q&A such as the Tesla’s self-driving abilities and its impact on insurance policies.
I understand there are many levels of financial sophistication that attend this event however I personally enjoy more technical or thought-provoking questions about Berkshire Hathaway’s business over the emotional tear jerkers about Munger. Everyone will get something different out of the Q&A and I do not want to neglect that there is value for attendees in areas that are not finance related when it comes to life. Below is a video on life advice from Buffet that I appreciated more than as I write this post.
Closing out Berkshire Hathaway Weekend on Sunday
As of Sunday, the Berkshire Hathaway sponsored activities is mostly over with a few things to do before flying out. There was the Invest in Yourself 5K (the only Berkshire Hathaway sponsored event left), Markel Group brunch, and a few other private events that I was aware of. This year I went to the Markel Group brunch, which was way more packed that I had anticipated, they noted about +2,000 people had signed up. It was my first time there and it was cool getting to network with more people and check out another company’s thoughts on the insurance business as that is its core business, just like Berkshire Hathaway.
Sunday is way less structured and really comes down to you to plan out because it is also the day many people fly out, bond with friends made throughout the years coming to the event, or just explore Omaha. Last year I drove to Iowa to go to a local diner, it was a completely different experience driving through a small town compared to where I live, it was eye opening to see. I intend to show up to next year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, and I would like to attend another networking event on Sunday or default to the 5K.
My Closing Thoughts on Berkshire Hathaway 2024
Overall, the annual shareholder meeting weekend is very fun to experience, and I would definitely recommend anyone who is remotely interested in going as it is one of the few publicly traded companies that has such an interesting meeting and events surrounding it, with a rare opportunity to make friends from all over the world. Whether you are from the US or from elsewhere in the world, if you have the opportunity and can get passes it is definitely a great experience that beats watching the livestreams at home.
Disclaimer:
This post contains mentions of publicly traded securities. This post is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or trade said securities. Please visit my personal portfolio to see my financial positions for clarity of my biases or inclinations.