Berkshire Hathaway Stock Slides as Attendance Drops at Abel Meeting
Berkshire Hathaway stock was not the story on Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska; the story was the crowd. Shareholder attendance at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting fell significantly as Greg Abel ran the meeting for the first time, and the arena was only about half full just before the start.
More than 40,000 people had attended recent meetings, making this year’s turnout a clear break from that level. For shareholders in the room, the change meant a smaller, quieter gathering around a leadership transition that began in January, when Warren Buffett gave up the CEO title.
Greg Abel Takes the Stage
Greg Abel had spent several years on stage next to Buffett before this weekend, but Saturday was his first time running the annual meeting. He has been with Berkshire Hathaway for more than 25 years and had already managed all of the company’s non-insurance businesses for nearly eight years before his promotion.
The shift also showed up in the event itself. Signs of Abel’s leadership transition were visible throughout the 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall, where Berkshire’s insurance, utility, railroad, manufacturing, retail and service businesses remained the core draw for attendees who came to hear how the company is being run now.
Buffett Era Crowd Shrinks
Chris Bloomstran said, “Sadly we miss Warren and Charlie and that show which was fun, but it’s a business meeting for a lot of us and hearing what the businesses are doing is what it’s all about,” His comment captured the trade-off now facing Berkshire holders: less of the Buffett-and-Munger spectacle, more focus on the operating businesses.
Bob Robotti said, “That’s why I’m really here, really here is to network with other people,” He added that he does not expect surprises from Abel and the other Berkshire executives, saying, “They shouldn’t say anything that would be shocking and surprising because they’re consistent with what they do.” That expectation points to a meeting defined less by performance and more by continuity.
Abel’s Berkshire Culture Test
Warren Buffett remains Berkshire Hathaway chairman, and Abel has promised to maintain the culture that lets the CEOs of Berkshire’s businesses largely run their day-to-day operations. That continuity is the practical issue for shareholders: whether the company can keep its decentralized model while the face of the annual meeting changes.
Charlie Munger died in 2023, and Buffett’s departure from the CEO role in January made this the first annual meeting under Abel’s direct control. The reduced turnout suggests the meeting is already changing shape, but the business-focused shareholders still in the arena were there for the same reason Robotti gave: to hear from the company, not the show around it.
