New atmosphere in capitalist Woodstock.
Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK-A, BRK-B) annual shareholder meeting on Saturday marked a new era for the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett. It's the first time for the investing legend without his right-hand man Charlie Munger, who passed away on November 28, 2023, just short of his 100th birthday.
While Munger's absence was significant, his presence loomed throughout CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Charlie Munger's name was among the first words Buffett uttered when he took the stage.
Buffett described Munger as “the architect of Berkshire”, and his request for shareholders to “join me in applauding Charlie” was met with cheers and a standing ovation from a crowd that included the likes of Apple CEO Tim Cook, Citigroup (c) CEO Jane Fraser and Microsoft co-founder (MSFT) Bill Gates.
“In terms of having a partner, I simply cannot think of a conversation I had with Charlie that misled me,” Buffett later told the packed audience.
“In terms of money management, there has been no one in the world better to talk to for many decades than Charlie,” Buffett added.
The meeting began with a video tribute to the former Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman, which included a number of Munger's catchphrases from previous meetings, including “I think every time you see the word EBITDA, you should replace the word 'bulls**t' with earnings.” “
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is officially known on the Street as shorthand for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Companies tend to overestimate the metric as it is a more clear reading of the health of the business rather than net profits.
“It's a bittersweet moment…a tough day for a lot of people,” Dan Sheridan, Brooks Running's new CEO, told me about Munger's absence.
Executives of other Berkshire-owned companies have echoed Sheridan's message.
Maria Hokanson, executive vice president of Dairy Queen, called the event “an atmosphere of gratitude” and “a moment for us to reflect and celebrate his character and wisdom.” Meanwhile, Pat Egan, See's Candies' longtime CEO, noted that Munger's investment influence is evident in how Berkshire's business operates.
“It's still here in many ways… it's about simplicity, doing the right thing, not overthinking things, and taking care of the customer,” Egan told me.
Egan added: “You can't replace Charlie Munger. He's just an amazing, fantastic presence and we've missed him.”
As the meeting began, Buffett misspoke and called his successor, Greg Appel, “Charlie” when asked for his opinion on a shareholder's question. His mistake was met with cheers from the audience.
Buffett was also quick to highlight Munger's influence on Berkshire's portfolio, telling shareholders that BYD (BYDDY) and Costco (COST) are the stocks Munger has defended the most.
“Charlie, in all those years, only twice said 'Buy, buy, buy.' BYD was one of them and Costco was the other. Looking back, I should have been more aggressive at Costco. He was right, for a long time, on both The two companies.
The unique and special partnership between Buffett and Munger was evident when the Omaha fortune teller was asked what he would do if he could spend one more day with Charlie.
“Charlie loved to learn. He loved a wide range of things,” Buffett said. “We had just as much fun, perhaps more fun, with things that failed because then we had to find a way out of them.”
“It's an interesting question,” Buffett added. “We never had any doubts about the other guy, period… Charlie was always saying, 'Just tell me where I'm going to die so I never go there.' The truth is, he went everywhere with his mind, and so he wasn't just interested in the world at ninety-nine.” “At his age, the world was interested in him. It's amazing.”
Sean Smith He is an anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Smith on Twitter @SeanaNSSmith. Advice on deals, mergers, activist positions, or anything else? Email seanasmith@yahooinc.com.
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