Munger_Disciple

CNBC transcript of Greg' interview: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/07/berkshire-ceo-greg-abel-on-working-with-buffett-kraft-heinz-and-using-all-his-salary-to-buy-the-stock.html

I echo your comments as a 25+year shareholder

Yes that's what took away as well. One-time heads-up only as far as repurchases are concerned.

I would add insurance exposure to the middle east as well to the potential short-term negatives. Hopefully, there is a "war exclusion" clause in the policies written.

WSJ piece on Abel interview: https://www.wsj.com/business/berkshire-hathaway-resumes-share-buybacks-c4b1bbce?siteid=yhoof2 “I’m committed to doing this every year,” Abel said during an interview televised on CNBC. “My entire salary, as long as I’m CEO. We’ll file our 10-K, I’ll write the letter, and after the 48-hour cooling-off period, I’ll purchase.”

Amen to that! If it is convenient for him to buy two days after the AR, that's fine by me. I actually feel better about Greg today than last weekend. Happy that he would be our CEO for the next two decades.

The company said they would buy back shares at any time they see value so I don't think this argument holds much water. Anyhow, in this case both Abel & the company were buying shares simultaneously yesterday prior to shareholders knowing about it today.

Reading the transcript, I still came away thinking he would just buy shares after the 48 hour cooling off period post AR release.

I need to re-watch or read the transcript. I understood that he would buy automatically two days after the AR comes out.

I love the fact that he would use 100% of his salary after tax to buy Berkshire shares in the open market; but I agree it doesn't make any sense to pre-announce the exact purchase dates for the next 20 years that he hopes to be the CEO. Besides, he would want to buy when the shares are cheap, not regardless of the price two days after annual report comes out. Just buy in the open market when it makes sense.

It's a bit odd that Berkshire had to announce that they restarted the share repurchases, given that this policy has been in place for several years now. And the 10-K that was just filed also reiterated it anyhow. Regardless, I am pleased with Abel's commitment to the company and I think we long term shareholders are in safe hands with him.

Reuters article on Pacificorp lawsuits: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/sp-may-cut-berkshire-owned-pacificorp-utility-junk-because-wildfires-2026-03-03/ It's weird that Abel didn't discuss the elephant in the room in more detail in his shareholder letter. I see it as a negative, and I hope he discusses problems at Berkshire in more detail in future reports.

Yeah. I think's Ajit value to Berkshire is enormous (as Buffett repeatedly told us) and he is basically irreplaceable. When he retires, I think Berkshire will just stop underwriting certain risks that they only trust Ajit with. But they sure will miss his leadership across the board. My hope is that Ajit continues to work for Berkshire well past 80 and serves the role of Charlie for Greg after that.

Warren had done that in the past so it's nothing new. Overall the theme of the letter, it seems to me, is continuity.

Yes in the end the proof will be in the pudding. I wish Greg all the best as he undertakes this challenge.

I think you are being too nit-picky on this one. It's almost exactly the same thing as the famous Buffett Retained Earnings Test.

I agree that sentence makes no sense whatsoever. He should have just said the Board always makes decisions with the best long-term interests of shareholders in mind; i.e., they act like owners. Hopefully it's just a rookie error.

It was a decent letter. I am however a bit disappointed with the lack of more in-depth discussion on BHE's wild fire risks and possible resolution of lawsuits.

Bloomberg article on wild fire exposure: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/besieged-berkshire-utility-tries-rewrite-100008161.html

I particularly agree with this part of the post by @TwoCitiesCapital: If Fairfax was valued at 3x book, I'd be a seller all day.

Good post! Adds a much needed dose of reality to this bulled-up board.

Looks like Ajit has built himself a large real estate portfolio.

Thanks @Maverick47 for the excellent post! Keep going with more long winded educational posts!!

+1 Good post. I believe it can be summarized as seeking "margin of safety".

Fairfax treasury portfolio is quite short term, and I don't think they invest in 10-yr US treasuries (rightly so IMO). So it's the shorter end of the yield curve that matters more for Fairfax, especially since they are quite levered (in terms of float to equity).