The Oracle of Omaha has spoken — and Wall Street is, as usual, all ears. Warren Buffett’s crystal ball shows concerns about global tensions, caution in volatile markets, and confidence in Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) future under new leadership.
Buffett, currently 94, said Saturday at that he’ll step down as the head of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of this year, ending a storied investing career that saw him beat the market year after year. Buffett said he will recommend to the board that Greg Abel, long his heir apparent, take over as CEO. Abel is currently the chairman and CEO of the company’s energy business and the vice chairman of Berkshire’s non-insurance operations.
But before that news, at Berkshire’s closely watched annual meeting on Saturday, Buffett, offered his take on the current economic landscape, peppered with his characteristic humor and candor. As always, his words echoed far beyond the convention center in Omaha.
Here are some of the highlights from Buffett’s remarks to investors.
A warning about Trump’s trade war
Trade war and tariffs were the immediate focus. Buffett, speaking to thousands of attendees at his holding company’s annual meeting, delivered a sharp rebuke of protectionist trade policies as President Donald Trump tries to reshape the global trade order with sweeping tariffs.
“Trade should not be a weapon,” he said.
Buffett, who until now had stayed silent on Trump’s tariffs, added that trade has led to “bad things” in the attitudes it’s brought out in the U.S.
“I do not think it’s a great idea to try and design a world where a few a countries say, ‘Ha ha ha, we’ve won’ and other countries are envious,” he said, adding that the U.S. should be looking to trade with the rest of the world.
Buffett didn’t mention the president by name, but the target of his criticism was clear. Tensions between the U.S. and China remain high, with both sides imposing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods
“There’s no question that trade, trade can be an act of war,” Buffett said.
Buffett, whose sprawling conglomerate owns businesses ranging from railroads and utilities to retailers and insurance giants, has long championed globalization and warned against isolationist impulses.
Berkshire, in its quarterly earnings release, said, “Changes in macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical events, including changes in international trade policies and tariffs, may negatively affect our operating results and the values of our investments in equity securities and of our operating businesses. We are currently unable to reliably predict the nature, timing or magnitude of the potential economic consequences of any such changes or the impacts on our Consolidated Financial Statements.”
Time to be cautious with the markets
In a hallmark display of his sober market outlook, Buffett expressed skepticism about the overheated stock market.
Berkshire Hathaway reported a 14% decline in operating profit for the first quarter of 2025, driven largely by a steep drop in insurance underwriting income (partially related to the wildfires in Southern California). Still, the company ended the quarter with a record $347.7 billion in cash and short-term investments, up from $334 billion at the end of 2024.
The sheer size of Berkshire’s cash pile reflects Buffett’s reluctance to deploy capital in this kind of market. He told attendees that the holding company wasn’t seeing anything too attractive to invest in right now, saying that while Berkshire would be willing to invest as much as $100 billion under the right conditions, no such opportunities currently meet the company’s threshold for value and risk.
“We have made a lot of money by not wanting to be invested at all times,” he said.
Despite that, Buffett made clear the cash isn’t being saved for his successor.
“I wouldn’t do anything nearly so noble,” he added, drawing laughter from the crowd. “If he gets any edge when I leave, I’ll resent it.”
He also seemed somewhat optimistic about the country’s future: “If I were being born today, I would just keep negotiating in the womb until they said, ‘You could be in the United States,” Buffett joked.
He made it clear Berkshire wouldn’t put its money toward “stupid things.” If the company did, shareholders “ought to get rid of us,” he added.
“It’s easier to do stupid things with other people’s money than it is with your own money,” Buffett said. “That’s one of the problems government has generally. We don’t want to bring it to private enterprise.”