2020 Annual Meeting

Date: May 2, 2020 Location: Virtual (Omaha, Nebraska) Source: Full Transcript

Overview

This was Berkshire Hathaway's first-ever virtual annual meeting, held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Warren Buffett conducted the meeting from Omaha with Charlie Munger appearing via Zoom. The meeting was broadcast live on CNBC.

This historic meeting featured:

• Empty arena (17,000+ empty seats)
• First virtual format in Berkshire history
• Discussion of unprecedented economic uncertainty
• Buffett's first use of presentation slides at a meeting

Key Highlights

Opening: "Doesn't Feel Like an Annual Meeting"

Buffett opened by acknowledging the unusual circumstances:

"It doesn't look like an annual meeting. It doesn't feel exactly like an annual meeting. It particularly doesn't feel like an annual meeting because my partner of 60 years, Charlie Munger, is not sitting up here."

He assured shareholders that Munger (96 at the time) was "in fine shape" and would return in 2021.

COVID-19 Discussion

The pandemic dominated the meeting. Buffett discussed:

Health Situation

• He praised Dr. Anthony Fauci as a "straight shooter"
• Compared the situation to the 1918 Spanish flu
• Emphasized the range of possible outcomes was still very wide

Economic Impact

• Described the economic shutdown as "pulling the train off the tracks and putting it on a siding"
• Noted this was unlike 2008 where "the roadbed was weak"
• Acknowledged the extraordinary range of economic possibilities

Berkshire's Response

Buffett announced several significant actions:

• Airline stocks sold: Berkshire exited its airline positions during the panic
• No major acquisitions: Said he couldn't find attractive opportunities at reasonable prices
• Cash position: Maintained substantial cash reserves

Key Themes

On Market Volatility

Buffett discussed the importance of staying rational during panic:

• Market volatility is not risk for long-term investors
• The virus is "very, very transmissible" but "not as lethal as it might have been"

On Capital Allocation

Buffett explained why Berkshire wasn't making major moves:

• Couldn't find attractively priced businesses
• Would wait for "elephant" opportunities
• No urgency to deploy capital in uncertain times

On the Future

Buffett expressed confidence in America:

"This is quite an experiment. And we may know the answer to most of the questions reasonably soon, but we may not know the answers to some very important questions for many years."

Famous Quotes

"I don't really have anything to add to your knowledge on health. In school I did okay in accounting, but I was a disaster in biology."

"I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Fauci for educating and informing me."

"We do not know exactly what happens when you voluntarily shut down a substantial portion of your society."

Significance

This meeting was historically significant as:

1. First virtual annual meeting in Berkshire history
2. Buffett's first use of presentation slides
3. First time Munger appeared remotely
4. Major airline positions were exited during the meeting weekend
5. Set the template for future pandemic-era meetings

Related

• meeting-2021 - Second virtual meeting
• meeting-2019 - Last normal meeting with Munger
• warren-buffett
• charlie-munger
• berkshire-hathaway

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This is a summary. The full transcript contains the complete Q&A session with Becky Quick.