The Berkshire Hathaway shareholders' meeting is coming! Warren Buffett stepped backstage for the first time in sixty years, what will the debut of the "new king" look like?

On Saturday, May 2nd, Berkshire Hathaway's 2026 shareholders meeting will be held in Omaha, in the Central Time Zone of the United States. This year marks the first time in Berkshire's sixty-year history under Buffett's leadership that the annual shareholder meeting will be held with Buffett "taking a step back." It will serve as a "stress test" for Berkshire following the power transition. Since Buffett stepped down as CEO at the end of last year, Greg Abel will be hosting the public Q&A session as CEO for the first time, marking the official entry of Berkshire, a trillion-dollar corporate giant built by Buffett, into the "post-Buffett era." Buffett, at 95 years old, will attend the shareholder meeting, but will no longer sit on stage to host the Q&A session. Instead, he will be present as a board member, while Abel will take the lead in hosting the Q&A session. Analysts predict that the meeting's style is expected to shift from Buffett's investment philosophy and life wisdom towards a focus on operations and capital allocation. For investors, this will be their first close examination of Abel's ability to manage Berkshire, and investor sentiment will to some extent be influenced by his performance. Berkshire's first-quarter financial report will also be released on the day of the shareholder meeting, Saturday morning in the Eastern Time Zone, adding an extra layer of market attention to the meeting. Buffett's revelation last month about a "new small investment" that has not been disclosed is also expected to be a focal point at the event. So far this year, both Berkshire's Class A and Class B shares have dropped more than 5%, lagging behind the S&P 500 index by about 10 percentage points. Since Buffett announced his retirement plan last May, Berkshire has underperformed the S&P by over 30 percentage points. In the first shareholder letter issued under Abel's leadership, investors generally feel that there is still a lack of clarity on the future strategy, and the market is looking for more definitive direction from this meeting. Traditionally, Berkshire has had a core culture of "decentralization and long-term holdings." But Abel's more operational management style has already begun to push for some organizational adjustments. Compared to Buffett's "hands-off" approach of just looking at the numbers, Abel communicates more frequently with the CEOs of subsidiary companies, as well as interacting with various management teams and boards. The market is focused on whether Abel will change the traditional "long-term holding" approach after acquisitions, strengthen headquarters' control over business operations, and promote a more systematic performance and capital return mechanism. Although there are clear changes in the Q&A structure, the overall meeting retains its traditional elements: - Prior to the meeting, there will be company videos, shareholder interactions, and shopping activities ("capitalist pilgrimage festival features"). - The Q&A remains the core content of the entire day, revolving around investment, macroeconomics, and business operations. The live Q&A portion for shareholders will remain, accompanied by written questions selected by CNBC reporter Becky Quick. - The Q&A portion will continue to be broadcast live on CNBC, expanding its reach and providing bilingual streaming in English and Mandarin. The broadcast will start at 8:15 am local time on the 2nd. However, from an institutional perspective, the meeting emphasizes corporate governance issues, including board elections, executive compensation voting frequency, and other standardized processes, highlighting the importance of enhancing the company's governance framework. The key focus for investors at this meeting will be on the direction of Berkshire's massive $373 billion in cash and bonds reserves. One of the core issues facing Berkshire is how to utilize its substantial cash reserves. By the end of 2025, Berkshire's cash holdings reached a record high, and Buffett revealed last month that he purchased an additional $17 billion in government bonds in March. The direction of stock buybacks is also under scrutiny. Berkshire resumed its stock buyback program in March, after a hiatus of almost two years, with the repurchase amounting to about $2.26 billion. Abel also announced that he would personally purchase Berkshire stock with his entire after-tax compensation (around $15 million) and stated that he would continue this practice each day. Analysts believe that Buffett's role in investment decisions is still crucial, and the revelation of the first-quarter 13F holdings on May 15 may provide more clues. The market will be closely watching how Abel handles these decisions. Under Abel's leadership, Berkshire will need to address the decline in operational profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, with insurance underwriting profit dropping significantly by 54%, contributing to a nearly 30% decrease in operating profit. This has raised concerns among investors who were already cautious due to the leadership change. The challenge for Abel will be to maintain Berkshire's unique culture while showcasing his own strategic vision. The stage is set for a transition from Buffett's era to a new one, and how Abel interprets strategy, responds to inquiries, balances tradition with innovation, will largely set the tone for his tenure.