(2020 update. The 2020 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting took place virtually with a Q&A session with Warren Buffett and Greg Abel (the likely next CEO). Right now it is available on replay at Yahoo Finance with the full transcript linked below.)
Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Shareholder Meetings are held in Omaha, Nebraska every May. Although most of my portfolio is in a diversified mix of index funds, I also own individual shares of Berkshire Hathaway and respect the rational and practical advice given out by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
I also like getting the information directly! I missed the live event again in 2019, but I plan catch up by first reading the WSJ liveblog, and then listening to the entire Q&A session via Yahoo Finance podcast at my own pace. Here are the many ways that you can catch up on past shareholder meetings.
Full Videos
- Yahoo Finance Livestream. Yahoo Finance is the exclusive online host of the Berkshire Hathaway 2020 Annual Shareholders Meeting that occurred May 2nd, 2020. View the entire Q&A session in its entirety on demand.
- CNBC Warren Buffett Archive. Footage of shareholder meetings from 1994-2019 In 2018, Berkshire gave CNBC a box of old VHS tapes (!) which were converted to digital videos so that everyone can view them for free. Additional material from CNBC including interviews, highlights, and short-form videos is also available.
Transcripts
- 2020 transcript by Rev.
- 2019 transcript by The Hobbyist Investor.
- ValueWalk 2018 notes by Adam Blum.
- ValueWalk 2017 notes by David Kass.
- ValueWalk 2016 notes by David Kass.
- ValueWalk 2015 notes by Ingrid R. Hendershot.
- ValueWalk 2015 notes by David Kass.
- ValueWalk 2014 notes [PDF] by Alex Bossert.
- Several individual investors share their own notes and transcripts after each meeting online each year.
Liveblogs
- 2020 CNBC Liveblog.
- 2019 WSJ Liveblog. Wall Street Journal has done a liveblog each year with highlights from the Q&A session. This is a good option if you are short on time. 2018. 2017. 2016. 2015. 2010.
- Bloomberg 2019 Liveblog. 2018.
- Morningstar 2019 coverage (no liveblog for 2019). 2018 Liveblog. 2017. 2010.
Podcasts
- Yahoo Finance also makes the BRK meeting available as a podcast, so you can listen in parts during your commute or chores. I listened to the entire 2018 meeting in the car while driving, and I liked it much better than sitting in front a computer. 2019 is already uploaded. iTunes. Player.fm.
Books
- University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting by Daniel Pecaut and Corey Wrenn. My book review.
- Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha by Jeff Matthews was published in 2008 and presented a detailed personal account of his experiences at the meeting.
This post is about the live shareholder meeting, and is separate from the 2019 annual shareholder letter (which are also great).
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Personally have gone twice, 2010 and 2012. This thing is unreal and it’s just a shareholder meeting with a very interesting Q&A session beforehand. Unfortunately it gets bigger and bigger every year, so it feels like a stampede to get a seat anywhere (hence why they are now live-streaming it too).
Quite a unique, American experience. Alas, not one single member of my family understands the obsession with visiting Omaha and Warren Buffett’s meeting.
Don’t regret going for a minute or dollar! Just do it.
Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been wanting to go for years, too. Haven’t put my mind to making it happen either but there’s a reason I refuse to sell my few BRKBs 🙂
I’m sure it’s more sensible to just livestream it but there’s something about the experience of seeing it live that’s appealing. Maybe it’ll be worth it to go once, just for the memories.
Agreed, I’m trying to get my stuff together for May 2018. Munger is 93 years old after all!
I live in Omaha and will be attending tomorrow. If you want any info, pics or anything, just e-mail me. Also, I have plenty of bedrooms in my house if you’d want a place to stay next year.
Thanks, that is quite a generous offer! I’m sure you don’t want my kids tearing up your house though 😉
Ha, we can always set up a tent for you guys in the backyard. 🙂
I attended in 2009 and booked everything about one month before the event because I wasn’t a shareholder and I was waiting for Buffett to give away tickets on eBay. Flights were okay but the only hotel I could get was at the Econo Lodge Downtown. I enjoyed the experience, but it was not the zoo that it’s described today.
Interesting, yes I hear that the housing is the hard part.
I have thought about attending for a while as well. I think a lot of people do it for the experience of “seeing” Buffett and Munger, as well as the networking potential.
However, the cost in terms of money and time is just too high for me. The amount of time and inconvenience of fighting with crowds for seats is not worth it for me. I do not think that the time is spent efficiently, if you just go for the meeting. If you want to network, perhaps it may be worth it ( though it may be cheaper to meet these people elsewhere)
The transcripts of past meetings have been available online for several years, and you can learn from those from the comfort of your own seat. Now that you can see it live-streamed on Yahoo, there is even a lower incentive to just go to Omaha. And that is without the hassle of travel and fighting with crowds.
On the other hand, as the meeting has increased in size, we also get a lot of repetitive questions as well.
Watching the livestream is an interesting middle ground for me. Some of the questions are, how do I put it… stupid 🙂 I can’t help but be amused by the consumerism of this festival celebrating the billionaire with no stuff. I’m frugal, but I still kind of want a Warren Buffett jello mold. So weird.
The third time in Omaha. Booked everything in January. Direct flight to Kansas City – $250; Car – $50 for two days. 2-star hotel – $110 in Omaha Friday, $50 in Kansas City Saturday. Most money spent in shopping before was $40 for a book, also bought some Fruit of Looms underwear with Warren/Charlie print ? Amazing experience listening to those two fellows. Hope it will be good today, too
Hope you had a good time. Buffett Munger boxers… I kind of want those too! Arrgh. May 2018, gotta try to work this out.
Munger and Buffet are two interesting guys and like all other Gurus…..you can listen and listen but you can never have their wisdom or good luck. In their old age they’ve become anachronisms for their outdated ideas and perceptions as well as their candor and directness especially in the case of Munger. His comments on the origins and reality of the media’s phony drum beat on income inequality and the Wells Fargo fiasco was particularly interesting and I’m sure will likely be ignored by the 18 clowns running for President on the Democratic side. As an investor my one and only valuable takeaway from these guys over the years has been….you don’t buy the stock you buy the CEO.