Berkshire shares trade lower even after Abel scores good marks at meeting, earnings jump

Berkshire Hathaway shares gave up gains Monday afternoon following CEO Greg Abel’s solid performance over the weekend helming the annual meeting for the first time, as well as a jump in the conglomerate’s earnings.

Class B shares of the conglomerate closed nearly 1% lower, after rising earlier in the session following the positive reception to Warren Buffett’s handpicked successor at the Berkshire Hathaway gathering in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday. Many in the investment community acknowledged the loss of the wit and storytelling that were Buffett’s signature, but were also reassured by the demonstration of Abel’s firm grasp over Berkshire’s sprawling enterprise, as well as his insights into the conglomerate’s future direction.

“Greg Abel performed well in his first Annual Meeting as CEO, in our view, exhibiting a deep understanding of all of BRK’s major businesses and plans to drive operational excellence,” UBS’ Brian Meredith wrote in a Sunday note.

Berkshire Hathaway’s first-quarter report early on Saturday showed a solid jump in the conglomerate’s operating earnings of 18% from a year earlier. Those gains were driven largely by insurance underwriting, which surged 28.5% to about $1.7 billion. It also showed the conglomerate sitting on a cash hoard nearing $400 billion.

One key theme Abel addressed in the morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday was artificial intelligence, a topic shareholders had been eager to hear more on prior to the event. The CEO specified that Berkshire won’t be doing “AI for the sake of AI,” a measured stance that’s a departure from other corporate executives racing to integrate the technology. At one point in the morning, Abel fielded a question from a deepfake version of Buffett, which he then turned into a discussion on the cybersecurity risks around AI.

The CEO was also joined during the event by other members of his leadership team, including Ajit Jain, vice chairman of insurance operations; Adam Johnson, president of Berkshire’s consumer products, service and retailing businesses; and Katie Farmer, CEO of BNSF Railway. Abel walked shareholders through efforts to improve its railway and insurance businesses, and the inclusion of Berkshire’s other executives was also reassuring to investors.

Abel also added that he doesn’t expect Berkshire will ever break up or divest its subsidiaries.

“We are a conglomerate, but we are an efficient conglomerate,” Abel said. “We don’t have layers of management.”

Other highlights from the event include the remarks chairman Buffett made from the audience. Early on in the meeting, Abel commemorated Buffett’s long tenure at Berkshire by raising a jersey to the rafters of the CHI Health Center, where the event is held each year.

At the halfway point of the event, Buffett in a special interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick said the current investing environment is not “ideal.”

Read all the highlights from the meeting here.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Yun Li and Christina Cheddar Berk contributed to this report.