This year's
Abel put his encyclopedic knowledge of the utility business that he led directly for years on display and delved into railroad operations and potential acquisitions that Berkshire pursued while sharing the stage with Buffett all day. For his part, the 93-year-old billionaire showed investors he is still sharp.
Abel pointed out that it required a major culture shift to get workers at
Succession was clearly top of mind for many of the thousands of people who filled an
Previously, Buffett had said that when Abel becomes CEO, investment managers
And Buffett said because Abel understands businesses so well, he also understands stocks.
But Edward Jones analyst
"I think stock picking is hard. I don’t think it’s something you can just start doing and be good at it," Shanahan said.
Abel does have a history of making multibillion-dollar deals when he was the head of Berkshire's utility unit for a decade, including the acquisitions of NV Energy and
Abel just reassured shareholders that "the capital allocation principles that we use today will be maintained.”
“Does that give you more or less confidence post-Buffett? I would say it’s got to give you less — not because it’s a worse circumstance — but because it hasn’t been very transparent and communicated that clearly. You’ve got to start asking, well, what else is going to change?” said
Abel definitely has the confidence of the CEOs at all of Berkshire's many varied noninsurance businesses who report to him and ask his advice on any challenges they are facing.
“Greg sees so much more than I do on a daily basis. So his perspective is valued, and his wisdom is something that is such a luxury for all of us to be able to tap into,” said
“He really expects us to know our business, understand the parameters, and to run our business on a day to day basis,” said
The shareholders who attended the meeting and spent hours shopping and talking with executives at the booths Berkshire subsidiaries set up when they weren't listening to Buffett and Abel remain confident. Some of them even got the chance to take selfies with Abel, though Buffett no longer tours the exhibit hall in public.
“I think they'll be fine,” said
Smead said even Buffett, who is easily one of the greatest investors the world has ever seen, has been having a hard time lately finding good investments big enough to make a difference at Berkshire except for the
So no matter how good an investor Abel is, he will have a hard time finding deals big enough to provide a meaningful boost to Berkshire's earnings that approached
But for now, Buffett showed that Abel may not need to take over anytime soon because he looked good and he has long said he has no plans to retire, even if he acknowledged Saturday that he doesn't have the same energy he used to.
“There wasn’t anything in that performance that I found worrisome or troubling,” Seifert said.
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