The 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Assembly occurred on Might third, 2025, and also you’ve in all probability already heard the large information: Warren Buffett will step down because the CEO on the finish of the yr, to get replaced by Greg Abel (latest Fortune profile). He’ll stay Chairman of the Board. It is a huge deal, however I view it extra as a step change. This may enable Abel to straight handle all of their wholly-owned subsidiary corporations with full authority, whereas nonetheless having Buffett round to make huge offers within the occasion of a market disaster alternative. I doubt Buffett’s day-to-day routine will change drastically.

In any case, I nonetheless loved watching and listening to your entire Q&A session with Warren Buffett, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain. The absence of Charlie Munger was nonetheless noticeable.

CNBC once more has the published rights. You could find the total 6+ hour dwell re-broadcast on CNBC YouTube they usually have additionally uploaded most of it to the CNBC Buffett Archives website. Their official transcript shouldn’t be but obtainable, however you will discover a useful transcript from Regular Compounding or hearken to the audio podcast model right here. Personally, I prefer to hearken to the audio within the automotive as soon as, after which learn by way of the transcript for the second spherical.

Listed here are just a few private takeaways and notes.

Nothing new concerning the money pile. They solely swing when it’s a fats pitch. They continue to be disciplined and stay affected person and opportunistic. From Greg Abel:

our steadiness sheet, as Warren commented, we can have a fortress of a steadiness sheet. I believed Sue Decker, our lead director, stated it properly yesterday. We’ve obtained a big amount of money proper now, however it’s an infinite asset to have that and that can proceed to be a philosophy. Once we can deploy it, we’ll deploy it properly. We acknowledge it as a strategic asset that enables us to climate troublesome occasions and never be depending on anyone.

From Buffett:

We don’t suppose it’s improper for passive buyers to make just a few easy investments and sit with them for all times. However we’ve made the choice to be within the enterprise, so we expect we are able to perform a little higher by behaving in a really irregular method.

To younger staff: discover folks you respect and actually need to work for. Don’t fear in regards to the wage as a lot.

You actually need to work at one thing you get pleasure from. I’ve had 5 bosses in life and I appreciated each one in every of them – they have been all attention-grabbing. I nonetheless determined that I’d slightly work for myself than anyone else. However in case you discover folks which can be fantastic to work with, that’s the place to go. I’ve instructed my youngsters mainly that you just don’t get fortunate like I did when I discovered what me at seven or eight years of age. It may have taken loads longer, however you need to discover what you like.

Alternatively, discover a good trainer or mentor in an space you’re enthusiastic about:

Folks that educate, normally, love having a younger scholar who’s really actually within the topic, they usually’ll spend additional time with you. I bumped into that. I had Graham and Dodd at Columbia. Dave Dodd handled me like a son mainly. However I used to be excited about what they have been saying they usually discovered it form of entertaining that I used to be so , so I’d go searching at what actually fascinates you. I wouldn’t try to be someone else.

On crypto and attempting to get wealthy fast with out creating any worth. A lot of crypto is predicated on the Higher Idiot idea.

If very silly issues are taking place round you, you do not need to take part. If persons are making more cash as a result of they’re borrowing cash or taking part in securities which can be items of junk however they hope to discover a greater sucker in a while, you must overlook that. That’ll chew you in some unspecified time in the future. The fundamental sport is so good, and also you’ve been so fortunate to be born now.

A short lived 15% drop within the inventory market is nothing.

If it had gone up 15% as a substitute of down 15%, folks would take that with outstanding grace. But when it makes a distinction to you whether or not your shares are down 15% or not, you have to get a considerably totally different funding philosophy as a result of the world shouldn’t be going to adapt to you. You’re going to need to adapt to the world.

You will notice a interval within the subsequent 20 years that will likely be a “hair curler” in comparison with something you’ve seen earlier than. That simply occurs periodically. The world makes huge errors, and surprises occur in dramatic methods. The extra refined the system will get, the extra the surprises can come out of left discipline.

In the meantime, paying 1% yearly continually yearly for funding administration charges is loads.

By the way, if all of you have been paying 1% for funding administration charges at Berkshire final yr, you’ll have paid $8 billion for managing, and you actually wouldn’t have needed to do it. Funding administration is an excellent sport as a result of different folks put up the capital and also you cost them for the capital whether or not they do properly or not, and you then cost them much more in the event that they do properly. It’s a well-designed enterprise for the individuals who apply it – and who can blame them? That’s capitalism.

More often than not, no one has a lot of an edge.

Charlie all the time identified that we made most of our cash out of about eight or 9 concepts over 50 years. We talked about it daily and browse each report and did all the pieces else. However in case you suppose you may get an thought a day from listening to your dealer or studying monetary data, overlook it. Now and again you get extraordinary alternatives, and more often than not you don’t have a lot of an edge.

Total, listening to this session as a Berkshire shareholder jogs my memory that the corporate retains a long-term mindset, considering in a long time and never quarters. Loads of corporations say issues like they suppose for the long-term, they put shareholder pursuits first, however their actions don’t match.

I’m grateful for these reminders of how issues ought to be accomplished. After all, it’s unhappy that issues are altering, and Buffett’s rising age does remind me of my very own. I can’t imagine how lengthy he’s been at this. Carpe Diem.

Previous BRK conferences: