Omaha's Oracle spoke – and Wall Street is, as usual, all ears. Warren Buffett's crystal ball shows concerns about global tensions, caution on volatile markets and confidence in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Future under a new leadership.
Buffett, currently 94, said on Saturday that he was going Spend as a Berkshire Hathaway leader At the end of this year, ending a vegetable investment career that saw him beat the market year after year. Buffett said he would recommend to the board of directors that Greg Abel, for a long time his apparent heir, takes over as CEO. Abel is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company's energy company and vice-president of non-assurance operations in Berkshire.
But before this news, during the annual meeting of Berkshire, Buffett, Buffett, offered its point of view on the current economic landscape, dotted with its humor and its characteristic franchise. As always, his words resonated far beyond the Omaha congress center.
Here are some of the highlights of Buffett remarks to investors.
A warning concerning the Trump trade war
The trade war and the prices were the immediate objective. Buffett, addressing thousands of participants at the annual meeting of his portfolio company, said a strong reprimand of protectionist trade policies while President Donald Trump tries to reshape the order of world trade with radical prices.
“Trade shouldn't be a weapon,” he said.
Buffett, which had so far been silent on Trump's prices, added that trade has led to “bad things” in the attitudes that this has brought out in the United States
“I do not think it is an excellent idea of trying to conceive a world where a few countries say:” Ha ha ha, we have won “and other countries are envious,” he said, adding that the United States should seek to exchange with the rest of the world.
Buffett did not mention the president by name, but the target of his criticisms was clear. Tensions between the United States and China remain high, the two parties imposing prices on billions of dollars in goods
“There is no doubt that trade, trade can be an act of war,” said Buffett.
Buffett, whose sprawling conglomerate has companies ranging from railways and public services to retailers and insurance giants, has long defended globalization and warned against isolationist impulses.
Berkshire, in its quarterly profits press release, said: “Changes under macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events, including changes in international trade policies and rates, can negatively affect our operational results and the values of our investments in capital securities and our operational activities. We are not currently able to predict reliably
It's time to be careful with the markets
In an exhibition characteristic of its sober market perspectives, Buffett expressed its skepticism about the overheated stock market.
Berkshire Hathaway declared a 14% drop in operating profit for the first quarter of 2025, largely by a sharp drop in insurance subscription income (partially linked to forest fires in South California). However, the company finished the quarter with a record of 347.7 billion dollars in cash and short -term investments, compared to $ 334 billion at the end of 2024.
The size of the Berkshire cash reflects the reluctance of Buffett to deploy capital on this type of market. He told participants that Holding was not seeing anything too attractive to invest at the moment, saying that if Berkshire would be willing to invest up to $ 100 billion under the right conditions, none of these opportunities currently respect the business value and risk threshold.
“We have made a lot of money by not wanting to be invested at any time,” he said.
Despite this, Buffett clearly said that the money was not saved for his successor.
“I would not do anything almost noble,” he added, pulling laughter from the crowd. “If he gets an advantage when I leave, I will feel it.”
He also seemed somewhat optimistic about the future of the country: “If I was born today, I would continue to negotiate in the uterus until they say:” You could be in the United States, “joked Buffett.
He said Berkshire would not put his money for “stupid things”. If the company did it, the shareholders “should get rid of us,” he added.
“It is easier to do stupid things with others money than with your own money,” said Buffett. “This is one of the problems that the government has generally. We do not want to bring it to private companies. ”
