By Karen Langley

OMAHA, Neb. -- Warren Buffett's many followers didn't have to wait long to hear his views on the global trade war.

The legendary investor made a vigorous case for trade as Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting kicked off Saturday, though he acknowledged it makes sense to try to limit trade deficits.

"We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world, and we should do what we do best and they should do what they do best," Buffett said.

President Trump's trade policies have rocked the markets in recent weeks, and were the focus of the very first question posed to the legendary investor in the lengthy question-and-answer session that has long been the annual gathering's highlight.

On Saturday, Buffett was asked about a 2003 article in Fortune magazine in which he proposed the U.S. seek to balance its foreign trade by issuing certificates that would be required to import goods. Giving the certificates to U.S. exporters who could then sell them to parties wanting to bring goods into the country would allow American producers to cut their prices in international markets, he wrote.

"Charlie thought it was a little Rube Goldberg," Buffett said of Charlie Munger, his longtime business partner who died in 2023, and his views on the import-certificates idea. "It's gimmicky, but it's certainly a lot better than what we're talking about now. ... Look at the attitudes it's brought out in the United States.

"I don't think it's a great idea to design a world where a few countries say 'ha-ha-ha, we won' and the rest of the countries are envious," Buffett added. "Trade should not be a weapon."

Buffett, Berkshire's chairman and chief executive, took the stage at 8 a.m. central time in Omaha, home to his conglomerate and the site of Saturday's annual meeting. Flanked by his successor-in-waiting, Greg Abel, and Ajit Jain, the executive who runs Berkshire's insurance business, Buffett will answer shareholders' questions until 1 p.m.

There is much to discuss. This year's meeting comes at a tumultuous moment for the markets and the global business world. President Trump's trade war has dominated the headlines, and investors were eager to hear Buffett's views on his policies. But there are other subjects that have stoked their curiosity, too, including his thoughts on Berkshire's stake in Apple and its massive cash trove.

At the start of Saturday's meeting, Buffett paid tribute to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, one of the luminaries in attendance. "I'm somewhat embarrassed to say Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more money than I've ever made," Buffett said.

Buffett was also asked early in his appearance about Berkshire's towering pile of cash and Treasury bills, which grew again in the most recent quarter. Was the buildup part of an effort to smooth the way for Abel to eventually take over?

"I wouldn't do anything nearly as noble as to withhold investing myself just so Greg could look good," Buffett said, prompting laughter in the arena.

The issue, Buffett said, is that attractive buying opportunities just don't come around all the time.

"Every now and then you find something," Buffett said. "It will happen again. I don't know when it might be."

Buffett downplayed the significance of the market's volatile stretch last month. The S&P 500 dropped 12% in the four trading days following Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement but, by Friday, had recouped its losses. "This has not been a dramatic bear market or anything of the sort," he said.

James Sinanis, a shareholder from Raleigh, N.C., who works for a home-building company, said before the start of the gathering that he wanted to know what Buffett thought about tariffs.

Shareholders and fans lined up early Saturday morning to ensure their seats in the arena before the legendary stock picker speaks. A day earlier, long lines wound around the front of Omaha's CHI Health Center, located near the Missouri River, as visitors and locals waited to pick up their meeting credentials and enter a shopping exhibit.

Inside, they perused products and swag from Berkshire subsidiary companies: Justin cowboy boots, plush geckos from insurer Geico, Berkshire-branded shoes from Brooks Running, icy Dairy Queen treats going for as little as $1. They lined up to examine a mock NetJets aircraft as well as a Clayton home that had been built in Minnesota and then driven to Omaha before being reassembled.

Shoppers at Oriental Trading could snap up memorabilia including a Buffett bobblehead and rubber ducks styled as Buffett and Charlie Munger, Buffett's friend and partner who died in 2023.

Visitors spoke of their admiration and affection for the two men. Elizabeth Rosen and Bill Craft, retirees from Fayetteville, Ark., had followed Berkshire from afar. After Munger's death, they decided to travel to Omaha to check out the scene and to see Buffett, who is 94 years old.

"They are icons," Rosen said. "It may never be the same once Warren is gone."

Saturday kicked off with the release of Berkshire's results for the first quarter. The company reported net income of $4.6 billion, or $3,200 a Class A share equivalent. That was down from $12.7 billion, or $8,825 a Class A share equivalent, a year earlier.

Operating earnings, which exclude some investment results, fell to $9.64 billion from $11.22 billion last year.

Buffett emphasizes operating earnings as a gauge of Berkshire's performance, because unrealized gains and losses in the company's investment portfolio can drive big swings in its quarterly net income.

Berkshire's trove of cash and Treasury bills rose to a record $333 billion, after accounting for a payable for purchasing some of the short-term government debt, from $321 billion at the end of last year.

One contributor to the continued cash buildup: Berkshire was a net seller of stocks for a 10th consecutive quarter. The company sold $4.7 billion of equity securities in the first three months of the year while buying $3.2 billion.

Berkshire also held off again for another quarter on buying back its own stock.

Berkshire's Class A and B shares have climbed 19% this year, compared with a 3.3% drop in the S&P 500.

Write to Karen Langley at karen.langley@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2025 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)

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