00:00 Speaker A
The way I look at it is just really the completion of the uh the plan that he had in place in terms of uh handing over leadership that really started at his an at his announcement at the 2025 annual meeting. Um, you know, this kind of completes the circle. and as you said, you know, I I went to I started going to the annual meetings in Omaha. He was probably over 70 years old at that point when I started going and I kept thinking to myself, you know, we only have so many years because, you know, nothing’s guaranteed for any of us, right? So you’re right. I think it’s been
00:39 Speaker A
an am not to think, it has been an amazing run. You know, he’s really the greatest investor of all time. The way that they have it framed and the way it’s really set up is, he’s not going to be running the company day-to-day. He’s there to protect the culture and the values that his father really, you know, brought about in the firm. Um so in that sense, I think that’s a great thing. You know, I don’t think you mentioned it, but he’s 71 years old. So, uh it’s kind of amazing that you have another person who’s let’s call him normal retirement age or over normal retirement age, uh taking over as chairman.
01:21 Speaker B
What about Berkshire’s stock because you point out that it has been lagging the S&P 500 recently, although if you held it from like 1965 or something, you saw an annualized return of over 19%.
01:30 Speaker A
you’re okay. Yeah. You’re better than okay. Yes.
01:32 Speaker B
you did well. But what do you mean, what do you make of the performance lately?
01:42 Speaker A
Yeah, so I think part of it is obviously they’re not in the space that is is really attractive, which is technology. I they have some technology holdings, um, most recently adding a bunch of Alphabet. But I actually attributed a lot to the fact that um operating earnings are going to be challenged this year at Berkshire Hathaway and it’s primarily the insurance business. And that’s really twofold. So one is, they’re up against difficult uh comparisons because they just had some blowout uh insurance earnings in some of the previous years. uh and then there’s really been because of those blowout insurance earnings across the industry, you have a lot more capital that’s gone in there. So, I expect earnings, particularly here in the third quarter will be uh on the operating side will be challenged. I think they’re only going to squeak out. I’m calling low to single, mid single digit operating earnings growth and you know, you don’t a lot of times you don’t see a lot of stock action based on that. I think the a lot of good stock action based on that. I guess the what I look at is say, hey, to my view, the downside is is much more limited in that than many companies because it’s selling at such an attractive valuation.
