Greg Abel's First Berkshire Meeting Drew A Smaller Crowd And A Bigger Cash Pile

Berkshire Hathaway just held its first yearly meeting in 60 years without Warren Buffett running it. New CEO Greg Abel handled most of the questions.

The cash pile is at a record. The crowd was thinner, but the plan is the same.

Abel's First Meeting As CEO

The theme was "The Legacy Continues." Abel said the conglomerate is working. He ruled out any plans to break up the firm.

"Absolutely not," he said when asked if Berkshire might split up. He added that the structure works "without the bureaucracy and bloated costs" of a normal conglomerate.

Buffett wasn't on stage, but he wasn't gone either. He sat with the directors on the arena floor.

About six minutes in, Berkshire hoisted a "jersey" up the wall stitched with a 60. That was one for each year Buffett ran the firm.

Buffett's view on Abel after a year on the job: "Greg is doing everything I did and then some, and he's doing it better in all cases."

During the lunch break, CNBC's Becky Quick spoke with Buffett. He said the market is in a more gambling mood than ever. He also said he gets fewer of today's businesses than he did a decade ago.

That helps explain why Berkshire is sitting on a record cash pile.

The Cash Pile Just Got Bigger

Cash on Berkshire's balance sheet now sits at a record $397.4 billion as of the end of March. That is a 6.5% jump from year-end.

Operating profit grew 18% in the first quarter. Insurance underwriting alone rose more than 28%.

Abel said the cash gives Berkshire a "unique opportunity" if a strong value setup shows up. So far, no big buy has landed.

The firm restarted share buybacks on March 4. That came after almost two years on pause.

Then it barely bought anything. Berkshire spent just $234 million on buybacks across the month. That was even after the stock drifted lower in late March.

It's like loading a fire hose and pointing it at a houseplant.

Berkshire was a net seller of stocks in the quarter. It sold about $24 billion in stocks and bought $16 billion. That helped push the cash pile to a record.

What To Watch

Attendance dropped. The roughly 18,975-seat arena was barely above half-full, per the Associated Press. The merch booth lines were a fraction of past years.

Abel also flagged AI as something Berkshire is testing at BNSF Railway. He sees data center buildouts as a major growth driver for power firms. He is not chasing AI for its own sake.

One question was about the Strait of Hormuz. Insurance chief Ajit Jain was asked if Berkshire would insure ships there. He channeled the late Charlie Munger with his reply: "The short answer is, it depends on the price."

For investors, the message is steady. Same playbook, bigger cash pile, just a smaller crowd watching.