Greg Abel Kicks Off Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Meeting 5/1/26

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**Andrew Ross Sorkin** (0:53)
Bring in show music, please.

**Cameron Costa** (0:57)
This is Squawk Pod and I'm CNBC producer Cameron Costa. On today's episode, we head to Omaha, where the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting is just starting to get underway.

**Andrew Ross Sorkin** (1:09)
Where is Becky Quick?

**Becky Quick** (1:11)
Hello, everybody. I am here live at the Jazzwares booth, the maker of the Squishmallows.

**Cameron Costa** (1:17)
It is the first year in 60 that Warren Buffett will not lead the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. Berkshire's new CEO, Greg Abel, will take the stage, and some things will be different. But Abel says important things will stay the same.

**Greg Abel** (1:32)
I just want them to really know that Warren brought this amazing commitment to Berkshire and deep understanding, and I want them to know that remains.

**Cameron Costa** (1:41)
In a sit-down interview with Becky before the crowds file in, he discusses this new chapter of Berkshire.

**Greg Abel** (1:48)
Number one, very fortunate that Warren still comes into the office every day, and he's a great sounding boy.

**Cameron Costa** (1:54)
And longtime shareholder and Berkshire board director Chris Davis joins us.

**Chris Davis** (1:59)
Nobody can communicate the way Warren can.

**Cameron Costa** (2:02)
What he's expecting from Greg Abel this weekend.

**Chris Davis** (2:05)
I think people will be recognized that sort of gradual transition from sort of opining on the world to what do we own? What are the advantages? What's the durability of the businesses?

**Cameron Costa** (2:15)
Plus the stocks that get him excited as chairman of Davis Advisors.

**Chris Davis** (2:20)
Capital One is a classic growth stock in disguise. I mean, imagine it's one of the largest banks in the country. It's still run by the founder.

**Cameron Costa** (2:28)
It's Friday, May 1st, and Squawk Pod begins right now.

**SPEAKER_2** (2:33)
Stand under by in 3, 2, 1

**Becky Quick** (2:36)
Cue Andrew.

**Andrew Ross Sorkin** (2:39)
Good morning and welcome to Squawk Box right here on CNBC. I'm Andrew Ross Sorkin, along with Becky Quick in Omaha this morning. Becky, or I should say Joe, is off, but Becky, you've got a whole lot of things going on at what is still the woodstock of capitalism.

**Becky Quick** (2:56)
Yeah, that's right. There's a lot here in Omaha, Nebraska. It's Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. This time comes around very quickly once again, Andrew. It looks a lot like it has for the last two decades here, but it is going to be pretty different this time around, and that's because for the first time in 60 years, it's not going to be Warren Buffett taking the stage on Saturday. This time it's Berkshire's new CEO, Greg Abel. He'll be at the helm. He'll be answering questions, and the theme of this meeting is actually the legacy continues. That is what Greg Abel says he's committed to doing.
Over 125,000 credentials were requested this year. That's about in line with what we saw in 2024 It is slightly down from last year, down by about 10 percent. Of those requests, some 30,000 to 40,000 shareholders are expected to make their way here for tomorrow's Q&A sessions and for the shareholder shopping. Of course, there's a lot of shopping to be had. Seas Candy's brought 11.5 tons of chocolate with it this time. That's a half ton more than they brought last year. Dairy Queen has over 26,000 frozen treats that they are waiting for people to snap up. Berks Running is right here. It expects to see over 2,000 pairs of shoes. But there are a lot of questions that shareholders have as the company begins this new chapter. Berkshire has so many companies and we'll be speaking to the managers of lots of those companies, trying to get a feel for what this means right now, what the question for inflation is. We'll dig into a little bit more of that inflation question. We've got much more from Omaha throughout the morning.