Andrew Bary

The day before the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting is the popular "shareholder shopping day," when thousands of stockshareholders descend on the CHI Health Arena in Omaha, Nebraska, to purchase products from Berkshire subsidiaries.

This year's event, held on Friday afternoon in the arena where the annual meeting takes place, may have been the biggest ever, judging from comments from some of the Berkshire divisions present, the crowds, the long lines, and the bulging shopping bags. The shopping keeps going on Saturday.

Americans may be pulling back on spending but not the shareholders here, who are flush thanks to the run-up in the stock price this year -- and over many decades. The Class A shares closed Friday at a record $809,350, up 1.6% on the day and 20% this year.

"This has to be a record first day. I've never seen it like this before, " said Brooks Running CEO Dan Sheridan.

Sheridan said Brooks, which is the leader in performance running shoes (those over $100 a pair) with a 20% market share, brought 2,500 pairs of shoes to Omaha -- its $140 Adrenaline GTS model -- and expects to sell about 2,000 before the weekend is over.

Other Berkshire units with streams of visitors included See's Candies, International Dairy Queen, Jazwares, Pilot Cos., Fruit of the Loom, Pampered Chef, and NetJets.

See's is always one of the booths with the heaviest traffic -- and this year the company is hoping to sell 24,000 pounds of chocolate and other treats, up from more than 18,000 pounds last year when it took in about $580,000 over two shopping days. The price of See's chocolates of more than $30 a pound is no deterrent. Quality is paramount at See's and Berkshire investors are happy to pay for it.

See's was showcasing miniature versions of its most popular candy, Scotchmallows (marshmallow and caramel) as well as Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett's favorite, chocolate walnut fudge, which he has washed down with a Coke at prior annual meetings.

International Dairy Queen was selling chocolate and other flavored Dilly ice-cream bars for $1 each -- below their retail price -- and is hoping to sell 24,000 over the two days, up from 22,000 a year ago. The proceeds will go to charity.

The company doesn't get the attention of such giant Berkshire units like Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, but Dairy Queen pulls its weight.

The Minnesota company has 7,700 restaurants globally, including over 4,000 in the U.S. It's expanding overseas, particularly in China where it has 1,700 restaurants. Dairy Queen is almost entirely franchised and pulled in about $6.4 billion in revenue in 2024 after steady increases in recent years. The company had information for potential franchisees, noting that it looks for entrepreneurs with restaurant experience.

Pilot, the truck-stop operator, had a truck simulator that allowed Berkshire holders to drive an 18-wheeler and be graded on performance. Pilot also was selling T-shirts emblazoned with three Warren Buffett's quips, including 'The Lowest Death Rate is Among 6-Year Olds. So I Decided to Eat Like a Six-Year-Old."

Jazwares, the toy company that Berkshire got with its purchase of diversified insurer Alleghany in 2022, again was showcasing its popular Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger squishmallows -- a kind of pillow dolls -- that are only available at the Berkshire annual meeting. Munger, Berkshire's longtime Berkshire vice chairman, adviser, and sounding board for Buffett, was beloved by Berkshire investors. He died at 99 in 2023.

By late afternoon, Jazwares was sold out of the larger version of the Buffett and Munger squishmallows, but still had the smaller versions at $14.99 each.

Shaw Industries, one of the top two U.S. makers of carpet and flooring, was showcasing a super-stain resistant carpet for homeowners with dogs; the carpet resists what the company calls the four "Ps." Benjamin Moore, the maker of high-end paint, cites a trend called "color drenching," where consumers paint a room -- walls, ceiling and trim -- different shades of the same color.

Earlier on Friday, Brooks reported that its first-quarter revenue was up 15% to a record high and that it is hoping to generate $1.5 billion in 2025, up from $1.3 billion in 2024.

Sheridan, a 27-year Brooks veteran, told Barron's that he has "best job in the industry." Echoing other Berkshire unit CEOs, he said he likes Berkshire's "long-term focus" and the ability to focus on the business, rather than deal with investors and Wall Street.

Sheridan praised Greg Abel, the Berkshire executive who oversees the company's dozens of non-insurance businesses.

"I'm blown away by his capacity and bandwidth," Sheridan said, noting he can text Abel and hear back quickly. Abel, 62, is Buffett's likely successor as CEO.

Brooks, like other footwear makers, is dealing with higher tariffs because most of its production comes from Vietnam and Indonesia, which have had an added 10% tariff since early April on top of a 20% existing tariff.

"Our strategy is not to overreact. We don't want to penalize the consumer," Sheridan said. He noted that making a performance shoe is a complex business. "Five hundred people touch a running shoe before it comes off the line."

Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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May 03, 2025 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT)

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