Deep Dive – Berkshire Hathaway in a New Era: Greg Abel’s First 100 Days Leading Up to the AGM
Ahead of the annual shareholder meeting of the American investment holding company Berkshire Hathaway (New York: BRK-B) this coming Saturday, we take stock of CEO Greg Abel’s first 100 days. The common thread: a CEO who is more hands-on than his predecessor, moves more quickly on capital allocation, and has no qualms about cutting ties with what isn’t working, while carefully preserving Buffett’s culture and core philosophy. We also take a closer look at a promising new partnership for Berkshire in Japan.
Saturday will mark the first meeting in which Greg Abel, as CEO, will answer questions from shareholders. Warren Buffett will still be present as chairman of the Board of Directors, but will no longer take the stage.
In early March, in our deep dive titled “Buffett’s Successor Greg Abel Immediately Shows Skin in the Game,” we wrote extensively about Abel’s first shareholder letter, his reinvestment of his entire annual salary in company stock, and the resumption of the share buyback program. With a substantial personal purchase of Berkshire shares worth USD 15.3 million, Abel demonstrated significant skin in the game. The company itself also put its money where its mouth is, as Berkshire Hathaway has actively restarted the share buyback program—an important signal that the board (including Buffett) and Abel believe the intrinsic value currently exceeds the current market price.
Michael Gielkens
