Big news from Warren Buffett.

The Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B) annual meeting took place on May 4 in CEO Warren Buffett’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Berkshire shares are lagging the S&P 500 index so far in 2019, thanks in large part to the struggles of major Berkshire holding Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC). Berkshire goes all out with entertainment and events for its loyal shareholders, but Buffett disciples are most interested in any news coming out of the meeting. This year Buffett didn’t disappoint, giving investors insight into several important issues. Here are eight things to know from the Berkshire annual meeting.

Next:Buffett still supports Kraft Heinz. Credit

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Buffett still supports Kraft Heinz.

Kraft Heinz shares are down 24% in 2019, and Berkshire still holds more than 325.6 million shares. In February, Kraft Heinz disclosed an SEC accounting investigation. Kraft Heinz also cut its dividend and took a $15.4 billion writedown for its Kraft and Oscar Meyer brands. Perhaps no investor was more disappointed than Buffett, but he said at the Berkshire meeting that Kraft’s core operations are still strong and he is sticking with the company. “You can turn any investment into a bad deal by paying too much,” Buffett said of his Kraft Heinz stake.

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Big news from Warren Buffett.

The Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B) annual meeting took place on May 4 in CEO Warren Buffett’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Berkshire shares are lagging the S&P 500 index so far in 2019, thanks in large part to the struggles of major Berkshire holding Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC). Berkshire goes all out with entertainment and events for its loyal shareholders, but Buffett disciples are most interested in any news coming out of the meeting. This year Buffett didn’t disappoint, giving investors insight into several important issues. Here are eight things to know from the Berkshire annual meeting.

Buffett still supports Kraft Heinz.

Kraft Heinz shares are down 24% in 2019, and Berkshire still holds more than 325.6 million shares. In February, Kraft Heinz disclosed an SEC accounting investigation. Kraft Heinz also cut its dividend and took a $15.4 billion writedown for its Kraft and Oscar Meyer brands. Perhaps no investor was more disappointed than Buffett, but he said at the Berkshire meeting that Kraft’s core operations are still strong and he is sticking with the company. “You can turn any investment into a bad deal by paying too much,” Buffett said of his Kraft Heinz stake.

Buffett is bullish on women investors.

In addition to the Berkshire meeting over the weekend, top female investors held their Variant Perspectives Conference in Omaha on May 3. Buffett was a surprise guest at the event and said smart investing decisions and methodology are universal, regardless of sex. “The stock doesn’t know who owns you. It’s not going to do something different because female eyes are looking at it,” Buffett said. In fact, a 2018 study in the Journal of Accounting Research found that female stock analysts have historically made more accurate forecasts despite representing less than 20% of all Wall Street analysts.

Berkshire is finally backing Amazon.

Buffett has admittedly missed out on Amazon.com (AMZN) and its huge gains up until last week. One or both of Berkshire’s head investment managers Ted Weschler or Todd Combs is responsible for a new Amazon investment, according to CNBC. Berkshire investors won’t know how aggressive Berkshire was in buying Amazon until the end of the quarter, but Buffett had high praise for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. “I’m sure he didn’t dream it all at the beginning, but he kept looking at what was coming in and saw what was possible, and he’s unbelievable,” Buffett said.

He still isn't a fan of stock buybacks.

Buffett has historically not been a fan of share buybacks. However, Berkshire repurchased about $1.9 billion shares of its stock in the first quarter of 2019 after the company amended its buyback policy last year. Still, given Bershire’s more than $100 billion in excess cash, some investors were hoping for Berkshire to be more aggressive in buying back its stock in 2019. “We’re operating on the basis that we will get chances to deploy capital, they will come in clumps in all likelihood, and they will come when other people don’t want to allocate capital,” Buffett said.

Buffett is skeptical of Tesla disruption.

Berkshire's General Motors Co. (GM) shares are up 16% so far in 2019, while Tesla (TSLA) shares are down 23%. Buffett was asked about Tesla and CEO Elon Musk this weekend. Buffett said Tesla’s model of online vehicle sales likely won’t be as disruptive as some investors anticipate. “It’s another competitor, but I don’t think it destroys the auto dealer that takes care of the customer and is there to service the customer,” Buffett said of the online model. “It’s not an overwhelming threat, but it’s obviously something that will be around and will sell some cars.”

He says socialism is not a threat.

Buffett has been outspoken in his support for the Democratic Party, including a 2016 endorsement of Hillary Clinton. The leading field of Democratic nominees for 2020 includes several candidates supporting socialist policies, but Buffett said investors shouldn’t be concerned about socialism in the U.S. “I don’t think the country will go into socialism in 2020 or 2040 or 2060,” Buffett said. “I’m a card-carrying capitalist.” However, Buffett said that a functional free market also needs regulation, and a thriving capitalist country like the U.S. should always take care of all of its citizens.

Buffett still dislikes bitcoin.

Buffett hasn’t pulled any punches in slamming bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the past. Buffett has said blockchain technology is “important” but has referred to bitcoin as “rat poison” and “a delusion” for investors. When asked about blockchain once again over the weekend, Buffett compared the value of bitcoin to the value of the piece of paper a check is printed on. “Bitcoin is not unique in any way in terms its ability to work with (blockchain),” Buffett said. Buffett said Berkshire has indirect exposure to blockchain technology but is far from a leader in the space.

He says IPOs without profits are unproven.

When asked about the Wayfair (W) business model, which has yet to be sustainably profitable, Buffett said high-growth companies with no profits still have a lot to prove to investors. Buffett mentioned Amazon as a perfect example of how a money-losing company can ultimately thrive. However, he said the “jury is still out” on profitless 2019 IPOs such as Lyft (LYFT), Uber (UBER), Pinterest (PINS) and Beyond Meat (BYND). “Investors are willing to look at losses as long as sales are increasing and hope that there will be better days ahead,” Buffett said.

Takeaways from the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.

Buffett still supports Kraft Heinz.Buffett is bullish on women investors.Berkshire is finally backing Amazon.He still isn't a fan of stock buybacks.Buffett is skeptical of Tesla disruption.He says socialism is not a threat.Buffett still dislikes bitcoin.He says IPOs without profits are unproven.1 of 11

Wayne Duggan, Contributor

Wayne Duggan has been a U.S. News & World Report contributor since 2016. He is an expert at ...  Read more

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