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Lessons from Warren Buffet

Insights

Lessons from Warren Buffett: Insights from the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting  

This past weekend, thousands of shareholders gathered in Omaha, Nebraska, for the highly anticipated Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. At 94 years old, Warren Buffett once again spent nearly six hours answering questions and offering insights, continuing his tradition as the most trusted voice in long-term investing.

Known as the “Sage of Omaha,” Buffett has led Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years. This year marked a notable milestone, as he formally named his successor while assuring shareholders that he will remain Chairman of the Board. Each year, the investment community tunes in closely—not because Buffett offers market predictions, but because of the clarity and humility he brings. His reminder was as consistent as ever:

“Neither I nor anyone else at Berkshire has any idea what the stock market will do tomorrow, next week, or next month.”

In an industry where so many pretend to have all the answers, Buffett’s honesty is refreshing—and grounded in reality. Markets move based on the unpredictable reactions of millions of investors to global events.

Interestingly, as of May 2nd, the S&P 500 was up nine consecutive days, tying its longest winning streak since 2004. Amid headlines of economic uncertainty and geopolitical tension, few could have predicted such a rally—yet markets continue to surprise.

Another hot topic was Berkshire’s growing cash pile. Buffett made it clear: he is not selling investments to go to cash. Instead, Berkshire’s wholly owned businesses—more than 70 in total, including Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen, Duracell, and GEICO—continue to generate immense cash flow. On top of that, Berkshire holds stock in 40–50 publicly traded companies, with Apple, Bank of America, and Coca-Cola among the largest. While Buffett is not seeing attractive valuations right now, he is patiently waiting for the kind of market dislocation that creates opportunity.

History has shown that Buffett thrives when others panic. His biggest moves often come during times of crisis, when he is able to buy great businesses at deep discounts. It is a lesson that applies to all investors: panic is the enemy of long-term compounding.

So, what can we learn from the greatest investor of our time?

  • Stay focused on the long term
  • Remain invested and diversified
  • Rebalance thoughtfully and allocate capital to areas that are underperforming
  • Be patient, disciplined, and do not try to time the market  

As his longtime partner Charlie Munger wisely said:  

“The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily.”  

Berkshire Hathaway has been compounding wealth for six decades by sticking to these principles. We may not have Buffett’s billions, but we can certainly follow his blueprint. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What lessons from Buffet resonate most with you? 

Brett S Carleton, CFP®, ChFC®

Reviewed and refined with the assistance of AI tools, including ChatGPT.