TIP810: Berkshire Hathaway 2026 Valuation w/ Chris Bloomstran

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
You're listening to TIP.

**Stig Brodersen** (0:03)
Today's episode is one of my absolute favorites of the year, and it's becoming a bit of a tradition. I'm joined once again by my friend, Chris Bloomstran from Semper Augustus. Chris is one of those investors I've learned so much from over the years, and every time we sit down, I'm reminded why.
He has this unique ability to combine very deep analytical thinking with very practical real world understanding of how business actually work.
Now, to me, Chris is the top authority when it comes to Berkshire. And as always, we publish this conversation right before the annual meeting. We dig deep into what Berkshire is worth today, how to think about intrinsic value and what is actually going on under the hood. We also discuss where we're able to step into Buffett's role, how Berkshire should be managed going forward, and what investors should pay attention to right now, not just when it comes to Berkshire, but across markets. So, if you care about valuation and understanding businesses at a deeper level, you're going to love this one.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:04)
Since 2014, with more than 200 million downloads, we have interviewed the world's best investors, studied deeply the principles of value investing, and uncovered many compelling investment opportunities. We focus on understanding businesses and intrinsic value, investing accordingly, and sharing everything we learn with you.
This show is not investment advice. It's intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. All opinions expressed by hosts and guests are solely their own, and they may have investment in the securities discussed. Now for your host, Stig Brodersen.

**Stig Brodersen** (1:48)
Welcome to The Investor's Podcast. I'm your host, Stig Brodersen, and I'm here with Chris Brustrand. And this episode has been published the weekend before the big one. And of course, we're talking about the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholds Meeting. Chris, welcome to the show.

**Chris Bloomstran** (2:03)
I think we're making this an annual tradition, but always fun to catch up and look forward to the conversation. Thanks for having me.

**Stig Brodersen** (2:09)
You bet, Chris. I think I was going through some of our older conversations. I think this might be the sixth time you're on, and it's always around this special time of the year. So we have this window after your wonderful, wonderful letter has been published, but then just before Berkshire. And so this is it. This is the pregame banter. Are you excited about the weekend?

**Chris Bloomstran** (2:31)
I am. It's my favorite week of the year. My favorite used to be two days, used to go in on Friday and back on Sunday. And I had my little group of friends. We'd have a glass of burgundy and have a steak dinner, go to the meeting, get up early, go to the meeting, repeat the burgundy and steak dinner and then go home. And then started going to the Markel meeting. And anymore I go in on Wednesday and usually have three or four speaking engagements. So it's a little more of a production and the meeting just got bigger and bigger. But the people that go, the people that I've known for years and new people you meet, there's something special about the Berkshire community that you just don't find anywhere else.
There's something that Warren and Charlie created that attracts all these quirky people that share a similar value system. So it's fun and to have the changing of the guard and have Greg running the show and Warren in the front row is going to be very different, but it should be a great weekend.

**Stig Brodersen** (3:25)
Yeah.
How do you feel about it? I mean, I'm sure there's going to be a very special feeling this year without Buffett. I imagine that he would be sitting there with the board of directors, but he won't be up on stage. I think that is confirmed. How is the meeting going to be different other than the obvious fact, I guess?

**Chris Bloomstran** (3:41)
Well, they've said it's going to be shorter. I like the fact that Greg and Ajit are going to field questions about the operating companies and the insurance businesses. And then he's going to include Adam and Katie on stage as well to get a little more color from the subsidiaries.
And so, where Warren and Charlie would spend, well, six hours plus fielding questions, some with very little business relevance, they were able to talk about a lot about teaching and life and wisdom and I expect this to be a heck of a lot more business focused, which will be great. It's going to be shorter. But hearing from these folks that are running the subsidiaries about what's going on and what concerns them is going to be great.