Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders are getting ready for their annual meeting, which will be held in Omaha, Nebraska this weekend. As BRK.A shareholders prepare for their annual pilgrimage, there is likely to be one major question on their mind; the health of Warren Buffett, the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Last month, Buffett had said that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The cancer was detected early and doesn’t appear a threat to Buffett’s life. He plans to undergo radiation treatments this summer.
However, as shareholders descend to Omaha, they will have to confront the fact that Buffett, who is 81, can’t go on forever. Although Buffett has no plans to leave his post anytime soon, the question about BRK.A without the iconic investor is likely to cross shareholders’ minds at the meeting.
Berkshire Hathaway, which owns a range of businesses, has a succession plan in place. In a February letter to shareholders, Buffett said that the Berkshire Board decided on a leading candidate to succeed him as CEO. However, Buffett has declined to identify the individual.
Berkshire Hathaway watchers say that the company is likely to do things the way Buffett did them even when the Oracle of Omaha leaves his post. Jeff Matthews, a Berkshire shareholder, said that nobody is going to want to mess with what Warren Buffett built.
Apart from health and succession planning, shareholders will also focus on Berkshire Hathaway’s business during the meeting. Although BRK.A did not make any major acquisitions last year, the company did make some significant investments in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM). The IBM investment did come as a surprise to many as Buffett has for years shied away from investing in the technology sector.
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