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Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway will again hold its annual shareholder meeting virtually this weekend, with Warren Buffett and business partner Charlie Munger answering questions from Los Angeles on Saturday. A longtime observer of Buffett said the company got a big jump on COVID and connecting with investors.
Robert Miles teaches a class on Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway at The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business Administration and has written a book about the business legend. He said the company saw the potential of online streaming long before COVID hit.
“Berkshire Hathaway gave shareholders access before COVID with a virtual meeting after Warren saw the statistics of the Charlotte Hornets NBA basketball team,” Miles said. “Their viewership, when they streamed their games, skyrocketed. So observing that, Warren was streaming the Q&A session of the meeting three or four years before COVID.”
Last year’s event was live-streamed from Omaha, but this year Buffett wanted his partner Charlie Munger to be a part of it, so the live-stream will originate from Los Angeles and include three and half hours of questions and answers from shareholders and journalists. Miles said Buffett and Munger are still sharp.
“Viewers will notice that, without any reference to notes, both Charlie and Warren answer the unedited questions without knowledge in advance of what they are seamlessly,” Miles said. “I think there are greater pauses at soon-to-be 91 and 97, but I’d be happy to have their mental acuity at their age.”
This year, Buffett and Munger will be joined by vice chairmen Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, who are part of the company’s succession plan. Saturday’s event will be livestreamed through Yahoo Finance and begins at 12:30 Central. Buffett has said the in-person event will resume next year in Omaha.