Berkshire annual meeting live: Warren Buffett’s ‘jersey’ raised to the rafters in Omaha to honor retirement

Abel said Berkshire has taken a reserved stance on using and managing artificial intelligence, a stark contrast from other chief executives racing to reorient or rebrand their businesses around the technology.

“It has to be additive to our businesses,” Abel said. “We’re not going to do AI for the sake of AI.”

Abel said Berkshire will deploy AI in a form that is narrow in scope and focused on creating value propositions. He said there’s risks for “humanity” tied to the technology that the conglomerate is keeping in mind.

Companies including Snap and Atlassian cited AI when announcing job cuts this year. Allbirds last month announced a pivot to the technology from sustainable shoe production last month, prompting a surge in its stock.

— Alex Harring

Warren Buffett told exiting Apple CEO Tim Cook to take a bow during his initial address to the conference, remarks that resonated with Berkshire’s own change of leadership from Buffett to new CEO Greg Abel.

Buffett talked about the pressure of taking the reins from Apple founder Steve Jobs and how Cook delivered in spite of it.

“How would you like to step into the shoes of Steve [Jobs] and come through his record? It’s one of the miracles of American business management. … Thank you, Tim,” Buffett said through applause.

Cook announced this month that he will be stepping down as CEO, with Apple hardware chief, John Ternus, as his successor.

“When Steve died and when we made our investment and turned over 10% of the resources of Berkshire, we were turning it over to Tim, and he has turned that into $185 billion or something pretax.”

–Tobias Burns

Warren Buffett spoke from his seat, taking the microphone to once again praise Greg Abel. He noted that the day marks the anniversary of when he announced Abel would become CEO.

“We couldn’t have made a better decision. that’s been 100% successful. [He’s doing] everything I did and then some. He’s the right person,” Buffett said.

— Yun Li

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel kicked off the annual meeting by raising Warren Buffett’s jersey to the rafters at the CHI Health Center, emblazoned with the number “60,” as a permanent commemoration of the Oracle of Omaha’s many years at the conglomerate. Retiring a jersey is a tradition considered the highest honor among sports athletes.

The jersey was hung in the rafters alongside Charlie Munger’s jersey, with the number “45” for the late investor’s tenure at the company.

“I’m happy to report the jerseys will be in the rafters for the years to come,” Abel said.

— Sarah Min

Berkshire’s annual meeting kicked off with an homage to Buffett.

A video montage highlighted pictures and videos of the Oracle of Omaha over the years. The video, which was set to the Huey Lewis & The News song “Back in Time,” also featured clips from past meetings.

— Alex Harring

Actor Bill Murray was in attendance at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. He started coming to the meetings over the last several years after first meeting Warren Buffett.

“The first time I came was after I met Warren and I got a kick out of it,” actor Murray told CNBC’s Becky Quick. “He really makes me laugh. Big body laughs.”

Murray said he hadn’t even known he could have joined the annual meeting earlier, given that he has owned Berkshire stock for a long time thanks to late billionaire investor Sandy Gottesman.

“I didn’t even know I was in the club,” Murray said. “I could’ve been here in the club all this time.”

— Sarah Min

Warren Buffett, 95, was escorted to his seat in the front row of the directors’ section, drawing a loud round of applause from shareholders in attendance.

It marks the first time in six decades that Buffett is not front and center at Berkshire’s annual meeting.

— Yun Li

Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted on the floor inside the CHI Health Center Omaha.

Apple remains one of Berkshire’s largest holdings, even after the conglomerate pared back its stake following a massive rally in recent years.

The iPhone maker also announced last month that John Ternus will succeed Cook as CEO, with Cook set to become executive chairman on Sept. 1.

— Yun Li

Many long-time observers expect fewer philosophical questions that, in the past, typically dominated sessions led by the 95-year-old Buffett. Instead, more granular inquiries into operating businesses and strategy are likely.

Investors will also likely zero in on share repurchases after Berkshire resumed buybacks in March for the first time since 2024. However, the stock didn’t get much of a lift since then. Investors may press Abel on whether the pace of repurchases will accelerate in coming months.

Another area to draw scrutiny is Berkshire’s sprawling equity portfolio, and how it’s being managed in the post-Buffett era. Abel is already moving to put his stamp on the roughly $300 billion basket, reportedly unwinding positions tied to former investment manager Todd Combs after his departure for JPMorgan at the end of 2025.

— Yun Li

Berkshire said its investment portfolio remained concentrated in a small number of well-known stocks in the first quarter.

Here’s the conglomerate’s top five investments as of the end of March, listed alphabetically:

Berkshire said these five holdings accounted for 61% of its equity security portfolio’s aggregate fair value at the end of March.

— Alex Harring

Berkshire Hathaway posted a solid jump in first-quarter operating earnings, driven largely by a rebound in its insurance business, while amassing a record amount of cash for new CEO Greg Abel’s coffers.

Operating profit from its wholly owned units — including insurance and railroads — rose 18% from a year earlier, according to the company’s first earnings report since Abel succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO at the start of 2026. Insurance underwriting led the gains, climbing 28.5% to about $1.7 billion.

Berkshire’s cash pile swelled to a record $397.4 billion, topping its prior high of $381.6 billion set in the third quarter of last year. That buildup came as the conglomerate was a seller of stocks, with roughly $24.1 billion in equity sales during the quarter. It purchased about $16 billion.

Shares of Berkshire have fallen about 6% year to date, lagging the S&P 500′s 5.6% gain. Berkshire has trailed the index by more than 30 percentage points since Buffett signaled plans to step down last May.

The underperformance came even after Berkshire resumed buybacks in March for the first time since 2024. Berkshire repurchased $235 million of stock in the first quarter, according to the earnings report. The company had already disclosed that it purchased $226 million in stock on March 4, so this means it only did a slight amount more of buying as the quarter came to a close.

Some of the stock-selling activity may reflect a broader reshuffling of the portfolio following the departure of longtime investment manager Todd Combs, who left for JPMorgan Chase at the end of 2025, though the company hasn’t disclosed exactly which positions were affected.

At the end of March, Berkshire’s top five holdings were American Express, Apple, Bank of America , The Coca-Cola Company and Chevron.

Abel revealed he used his entire after-tax salary of $15 million to personally buy Berkshire shares, and plans to keep doing so every year for as long as he’s CEO.

— Yun Li

Ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting Saturday, the mood in the air was cautiously optimistic as new and returning investors weighed the company’s direction under a new chief executive.

“I spent a lot of time studying Greg,” said Robert Hagstrom, chief investment officer at EquityCompass Investment Management. “I think he’s not only the right guy — and he’s been vetted for so many years by so many people — but he’s the right guy at the right time.”

— Sarah Min, Yun Li

There’s noticeably smaller lines forming outside CHI Health Center Saturday morning compared with prior years. That could signal less interest for in-person attendance among shareholders with Warren Buffett no longer leading the meeting.

Similarly, there were smaller crowds and shorter lines at the annual “Berkshire Bazaar of Bargains,” a shopping event connected to the gathering.

— Alex Harring, Yun Li

Berkshire Hathaway investors are heading into this year’s annual meeting with less-than-stellar returns.

Shares of Berkshire’s class A stock have dropped nearly 6% in 2026, putting the conglomerate on pace to notch its first losing year since 2015. By comparison, the S&P 500 has climbed more than 5% year to date.

What’s more, Berkshire shares have tumbled more than 10% over the last 12 months. The S&P 500 has surged more than 28% in the same period.

Inside the sprawling exhibit hall at CHI Health Center Omaha, the annual “Berkshire Bazaar of Bargains” on Friday remained packed with its usual crowd-pleasing deals — just with a little more elbow room this year.

The roughly 20,000-square-foot shopping showcase featured familiar staples, including Buffett-themed merchandise from Brooks Sports and chocolate coins from See’s Candies, alongside products from dozens of subsidiaries. Still, compared with prior years, lines moved faster and the crowds were visibly lighter.

Abel made the rounds across the floor, stopping at each booth to greet employees and shake hands with shareholders.

CNBC will be livestreaming Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday, beginning at 9:15 a.m. ET. It’s a new era for the company as Greg Abel takes center stage for the first time as CEO.

Although Abel will be driving the meeting, Berkshire shareholders are likely to still poise a wide variety of questions to the company’s leadership.

Here is a rundown of the day’s events:

9:15 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.: Pre-show anchored by Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Berkshire Hathaway business update

10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m.: Morning question and answer session

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Halftime show anchored by Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Afternoon Q&A session

2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.: Post-show anchored by Becky Quick and Mike Santoli

Note: Schedule reflects Eastern Time

—Christina Cheddar Berk