Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel Reveals This Year’s Meeting Will Be A Little Different

• Abel added that he is excited about the depth of Berkshire’s team, stating that the world needs to see and hear from them more often.
• He also stated that the spike in energy prices due to the Iran war led to an immediate increase in input costs for Berkshire’s chemical businesses.
• Abel added that, despite the rise in input costs, it will take some time for those costs to be reflected in the company’s pricing for customers.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) CEO Greg Abel revealed on Friday that the company’s annual shareholder meeting will be a little different.

During an interview with CNBC, Abel stated that Berkshire will introduce a few other managers of the company.

“What we want is to… on stage, let all the owners, all the shareholders… those watching CNBC, start to see the depth of management,” Abel added.

This will be Abel’s first annual general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway as its CEO. Abel succeeded Warren Buffett at the beginning of this year.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares were up nearly 0.3% in Friday’s pre-market trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

Why Does Abel Want Berkshire Shareholders To Meet Managers?

Abel added that he is excited about the depth of Berkshire’s team, stating that the world needs to see and hear from them more often.

“That’s something I’m so excited by. When Warren made the announcement last May, the first thing he did was pull together the senior team… the senior leaders on the insurance side,” Abel said, adding that it was a small meeting in Omaha that included him, Buffett, Ajit Jain, and five other managers.

He also stated that Berkshire has a wealth of experience across the board, on both insurance and non-insurance sides. Abel added that he wants Berkshire’s shareholders to meet them and hear what the company’s managers do every day.

Berkshire’s annual meeting is scheduled for May 2, 2026, starting at 8 a.m. ET.

Iran War Led To Immediate Increase In Input Costs, Says Abel

Abel added that the spike in energy prices due to the Iran war led to an immediate increase in input costs for Berkshire’s chemical businesses.

“Fortunately, we do have teams… it can be a variety of things that surface on a daily, quarterly, annual basis… it’s heads down and we’re going to work our way through this,” he said.

Abel added that despite the rise in input costs, it will take some time for them to reflect in the company’s pricing for customers.

“There’s a way to adjust the price perfectly and fairly for both customers and us, but that takes time. I would say the biggest thing is we see some immediate increase in the input costs across certain businesses,” Abel said.

The Iran war is currently in its third month, and there is an indefinite ceasefire in place between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. Crude oil prices have surged since the war began in February, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures having surged nearly 57% so far.

Abel highlighted LiquidPower Specialty Products Inc. (LSPI) as one of the impacted businesses due to the soaring energy prices. LSPI produces chemical additives used in the pipeline industry to transport crude and refined products.

BRK.B stock is down 6% year-to-date and 11% over the past 12 months. The iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (IYG) is up 13% over the past 12 months, while the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) is up 7%.

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