Bloomberg
Warren Buffett Poised to Weigh In on How Berkshire Fares Post-Pandemic
(Bloomberg) — A year after Warren Buffett revealed he was unloading airline stocks as the pandemic took hold, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders are eager for his sense of what’s next for the conglomerate with more Americans emerging from lockdown.On Saturday, Berkshire’s chief executive officer will address shareholders via video-conference to conform with health guidelines, scrapping for a second year an arena event in Omaha, Nebraska, that typically attracted thousands of adoring fans. He’ll likely recount how the global crisis took a toll on some of the company’s wide-ranging businesses while bolstering some others.Investors will seek insights into the pulse of the U.S. economy from Buffett, whose company owns the BNSF railroad and has a stake in truck stop chain Pilot Travel Centers.“The first thing we’re going to be looking for is a demeanor on his part that should reflect a greater degree of confidence and visibility on the impact of the pandemic,” Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research, said in an interview. At last year’s meeting, when uncertainty continued to plague businesses and markets, Seifert “had the sense that he was truly frightened,” she said.A representative for Berkshire declined to comment ahead of the meeting.Last year’s event was a modest affair with Buffett striking a subdued tone amid uncertainty from the pandemic, as he sat spaced apart on…
