By Justin Baer

In a CNBC interview ahead of Saturday's Berkshire Hathaway meeting with shareholders, CEO Greg Abel weighed in on inflation risks and leadership changes at two of the conglomerate's core stock holdings.

Here are some highlights:

-- On the nation's inflation rate staying above 2%: "It's all manageable at this level, but we all know what's happened to countries when it gets to extreme levels. And post-Covid, we hit some pretty high levels when we were at the 8-9% level. So if it gets (to those) levels, and then it continues to compound, it gets very scary."

-- On the CEO succession plans at two of Berkshire's core stock holdings, Apple and Coca-Cola: "We will be meeting with the leaders in this coming week--with both of them, the incoming. We know the quality of those leaders. We know the quality of the businesses. The boards are exceptional. They're going to have thought through this very clearly, and have the right leader. And time always tells. We're excited by the leaders coming in."

-- On the fact that outgoing Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey is younger than Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as Berkshire's top executive in January: "Yeah, I know he's younger. I reminded him of that when he told me was going to step down. I said: `You've got more years in you. Come on.'"

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2026 10:42 ET (14:42 GMT)

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