“Nothing can stop America.”
That was Warren Buffett’s firm message at Berskshire’s 2020 annual shareholder meeting.
Some of the key highlights at the meeting included:
“Nothing can stop America”
“The American miracle, the American magic has always prevailed, and it will do so again. … In World War II, I was convinced of this,” he added. “I was convinced of this during the Cuban Missile Crisis, 9/11, the financial crisis.”
That was after Berkshire reported a $50 billion loss in the first quarter of 2020. According to CNBC, “Berkshire’s first-quarter net loss totaled $49.75 billion, or $30,653 per Class A share, reflecting $54.52 billion of losses from investments, mainly common stocks. A year earlier, net earnings totaled $21.66 billion, or $13,209 per share.
Berkshire Sold All Airline Stocks
“The world has changed for the airlines. And I don’t know how it’s changed and I hope it corrects itself in a reasonably prompt way,” he said. “I don’t know if Americans have now changed their habits or will change their habits because of the extended period.”
While a rare move for the billionaire, crushed demand for air travel has decimated the industry.
Berkshire Hasn’t Made Any Big Investments
The firm hasn’t made any big investments for quite some time. That’s because “We have not done anything because we haven’t seen anything that attractive,” Buffett said. “We are not doing anything big, obviously. We are willing to do something very big. I mean you could come to me on Monday morning with something that involved $30, or $40 billion or $50 billion. And if we really like what we are seeing, we would do it.”