From Dilly Bars to real estate, Minnesota's ties to Berkshire Hathaway meeting

OMAHA — On the opening day of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, the first thing you notice is the Dilly Bars.

Thousands of shareholders from around the world strolled a packed exhibit hall shoulder to shoulder, munching on treats from one of Berkshire's best-known subsidiaries, Bloomington-based Dairy Queen.

Attendees toted their ice cream bars through pop-up shops and displays for other Berkshire companies, collecting bags of swag from See's Candies, Squishmallows and Brooks Running, while taking photos with a giant Geico gecko statue.

Some shareholders showed up in designer suits, while others dressed for Disneyland. Young professionals, chattering about index funds, passed longtime investors at their 20th meeting.

The consensus, overheard more than a few times at CHI Health Center on Friday: "This is nuts." The yearly gathering in Omaha was delivering on its reputation as being "Woodstock for capitalists."

For a weekend every year, this Midwestern city is the focus of global business as the world's seventh-most-valuable company brings its eager owners together to hear from storied investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.

Yet few expected the headline act would be announcing his retirement.

Buffett ended Saturday's Q&A session by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year, shocking the tens of thousands of investors in the audience who gave him an extended standing ovation. The 94-year-old said it was time to hand the reins to his chosen successor, Berkshire Hathaway vice chair Greg Abel.

Day one, however, was all about Dilly Bars.

A family affair

On Friday, crowds shopped at exhibits put up by many of Berkshire's subsidiaries, including Helzberg Diamonds and Fruit of the Loom. While the holding company's BNSF Railway, NetJets and Pilot Travel Centers hosted interactive displays, Minneapolis-based HomeServices of America did not have its own booth this year.

Some shareholders brought their families.

"My son was born on Warren's birthday last year," said Austin Newton of Dallas, who brought him along with his 3-year-old daughter. "I wanted them to be able to say, 'I saw Warren Buffett.' "

Before that happened Saturday, the biggest prizes on the first day — for those willing to wait in long, slow-moving lines — were exclusive Squishmallow stuffed dolls of Buffett and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger. Berkshire bought the company behind the popular stuffed animals in 2022.

The lines for $1 Dilly Bars at the Dairy Queen booth moved much faster by comparison, as staffers handed out treats by the thousands.

Carrie Potter of Houston brought her 6-year-old niece, Ellie Petersen. Dairy Queen CEO Troy Bader chatted with Ellie while they took a break from the bustle of the crowd.

"She's not a shareholder yet, but her older brother is," Potter said. Ellie said she was glad to be spending a day off from kindergarten.

Buffett speaks

On Saturday comes the business. But the day still has the feel of a major concert.

Some shareholders show up before dawn to stand in line and ensure a good spot inside CHI Health Center when doors open at 7 a.m. Eventually the line stretches into the parking lots, where license plates from Wyoming, New Jersey, Ontario and Minnesota pepper the asphalt.

CHI Health Center, the 18,000-capacity home for Creighton University basketball, filled up by the time Buffett opened the day at 8 a.m. The crowd quickly hushed, hanging on his every word, quick to laugh and applaud.

Buffett, the world's fifth-richest man, kept cans of Cherry Coke by his microphone as he spoke his mind and answered questions. In his opening remarks, he called out Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was in the audience.

Berkshire Hathaway owns 2% of Apple stock, today worth $75 billion, and Buffett said Cook's leadership "made me more money than I ever have with Berkshire."

For nearly five hours with only one short intermission, Buffett, and to a lesser extent Abel and fellow company leader Ajit Jain, took questions from shareholders. Buffett drew some of his biggest applause for comments on trade and tariffs.

"We should be looking to trade with the rest of the world, and we should be looking to do what we do best, and they should do what they do best," he said. "The more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won't be at our expense."

The CEO drew laughs several times. Missing were the sardonic barbs of Munger, who died in 2023.

Buffett took questions on the economy, the company, government and investing strategies. One shareholder asked him for "the wisdom of life."

Buffett's blunt takes, devoid of typical corporate niceties and delivered with a penchant for storytelling and wit, kept the audience rapt.

"If every time you swung a baseball bat you hit a home run, the game wouldn't be very interesting," Buffett said.

One of the most anticipated business questions was about the mountain of cash, $334 billion, that Berkshire is sitting on (the company had $371 billion in revenue last year and an $89 billion profit.)

"It could be next week, it could be five years off, we will be bombarded with offerings that we'll be glad we have the cash for," Buffett said. "It would be a lot more fun if it would happen tomorrow," but that's unlikely, he added.

Surprise retirement

As the event wrapped up Saturday afternoon, Buffett announced he would be stepping down as CEO this year. He reiterated plans to donate his billions.

"I have no intention, zero, of selling one share of Berkshire Hathaway," he said. "It will get given away gradually."

Buffett did not say whether he would return for next year's annual meeting after he steps aside as CEO at the end of the year. He signaled he would remain an adviser to the $1.16 trillion company he built with Munger.

But it's likely that this meeting, his 60th, will be Buffett's last time to take the stage in Omaha.

A Berkshire Hathaway shareholder from Toronto who goes by AJ said on Friday "the clock is ticking" when it comes to getting a chance to see Buffett speak.

"Nobody wants to miss the last chance to see him before he goes away," AJ said. "He can use his time 10 different ways, but he chooses to spend time with us. That's special, and someday that's going to be gone forever."