Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting
‘Investment genius’ Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, predicted an economic recession this year.
On the 6th (local time), at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting held in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett said, “The feedback we have received about the general economy is that most businesses will probably report lower earnings this year compared to last year.”
He added, “The environment is completely different from six months ago,” and said, “Companies overestimated demand for certain products, and now sales are needed to clear excess inventory.”
The shareholders meeting was conducted in a format where Buffett answered various questions from investors.
Regarding the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, Buffett emphasized, “All bank deposits must be guaranteed. Otherwise, there would have been catastrophic consequences.” He said, “Fear is contagious.” He explained, “The possibility that depositors can quickly move their money has made Berkshire Hathaway much more cautious than during the financial crisis.”
Buffett also said that despite concerns over a default due to difficulties in the U.S. political debt ceiling negotiations, the likelihood of the U.S. dollar losing its status as the global reserve currency is low. However, he added, “(The U.S.) continuing to print money is crazy,” and “When people lose faith in a currency, they behave in completely different ways. They will look for something with equivalent purchasing power.”
Regarding the reason for holding a large stake in Apple, he said, “Apple is better than any company we own,” and admitted, “Selling some Apple shares years ago for accounting reasons was a stupid decision, and I regret it.”
On the same day, Berkshire Hathaway announced its performance ahead of the annual shareholders meeting, reporting a net income of $35.5 billion (approximately 47.1 trillion KRW) in the first quarter of this year. This is more than five times the net income of $5.58 billion (approximately 7.4 trillion KRW) in the first quarter of last year.
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