OMAHA, Nebraska — Warren Buffett said he will ask the board of Berkshire Hathaway to replace him as CEO with his already designated successor, Greg Abel, at year end.

Buffett noted that he would still ‘hang around’ to help, but the final word would be with Abel.

The investing legend said at the annual meeting celebrating 60 years of him at the helm of Berkshire that he wouldn’t sell a single share.

“I would add this, the decision to keep every share is an economic decision because i think the prospects of Berkshire will be better under Greg’s management than mine,” said Buffett.

Buffett and Abel told CNBC’s Becky Quick after the shareholder meeting that the pair would discuss at a Sunday board meeting what Buffett’s role will be formally. Buffett, 94, is currently CEO and chairman of the conglomerate.

So it’s not clear whether Abel will also assume the chairman role.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

OMAHA, Nebraska — Warren Buffett on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump’s hardline trade policy, without naming him directly, saying it’s a big mistake to slap punitive tariffs on the rest of the world.

“Trade should not be a weapon,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway‘s annual shareholder meeting. “The United States won. I mean, we have become an incredibly important country, starting from nothing 250 years ago. There’s not been anything like it.”

“It’s a big mistake, in my view, when you have seven and a half billion people that don’t like you very well, and you got 300 million that are crowing in some way about how well they’ve done – I don’t think it’s right, and I don’t think it’s wise,” he added.

Buffett’s comments, his most direct yet on tariffs, came after the White House’s rollout of the highest levies on imports in generations shocked the world last month, triggering extreme volatility on Wall Street. The president also announced a sudden 90-day pause on much of the increase, except for China, as the White House sought to make deals with countries.

Trump has slapped tariffs of 145% on imported Chinese goods this year, prompting China to impose retaliatory levies of 125%. China said last week it is evaluating the possibility of starting trade negotiations with the U.S.

“I do think that the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won’t be at the our expense, the more prosperous we’ll become, and the safer we’ll feel, and your children will feel someday,” Buffett said.

Investors had been waiting to hear from the 94-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” for his guidance to navigate the uncertain macroenvironment as well as his assessment on the state of the economy. The trillion-dollar Berkshire’s vast array of insurance, transportation, energy, retail and other businesses, from Geico to Burlington Northern to Dairy Queen, leave Buffett uniquely qualified to comment on the current health of the American economy. The first-quarter GDP was just reported to have contracted for the first time since 2022.

Berkshire said in its first-quarter earnings report that tariffs and other geopolitical events created “considerable uncertainty” for the conglomerate. The firm said it’s not able to predict any potential impact from tariffs at this time.

Buffett has been in a defensive mode, selling stocks for 10 straight quarters. Berkshire dumped more than $134 billion worth of stock in 2024, mainly due to reductions in Berkshire’s two largest equity holdings — Apple and Bank of America. As a result of the selling spree, Berkshire’s enormous pile of cash grew to yet another record, at $347 billion at the end of March.

(Follow along with our full coverage of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting here.)

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported first-quarter results on Saturday that showed a steep drop in operating earnings from the year-earlier period. The conglomerate, which owns a vast array of insurance, transportation, energy, retail and other businesses also warned that tariffs may further hit profits.

Operating earnings, which include the conglomerate’s fully owned insurance and railroad businesses, fell 14% to $9.641 billion during the first three months of the year. In the first quarter of 2024, they totaled $11.222 billion.

On per share basis, operating earnings were $4.47 last quarter, down from $5.20 per class B share in the same period one year ago. That compares to an estimate of $4.89 per class B share from UBS and an overall consensus estimate from 4 analysts of $4.72 a share per FactSet.

Much of that decline was driven by a 48.6% plunge in insurance-underwriting profit. That came in at $1.34 billion for the first quarter, down from $2.60 billion a year prior.

Berkshire’s bottom line also took a hit from the dollar losing value in the first quarter. The company said it suffered an approximate $713 million loss related to foreign exchange. This time last year, it benefited from a $597 million forex gain.

The dollar index fell nearly 4% in the first quarter. Against the Japanese yen, it lost 4.6%.

Berkshire said President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other geopolitical risks created an uncertain environment for the conglomerate, owner of BNSF railway, Brooks Running and Geico insurance. The firm said it’s not able to predict any potential impact from tariffs at this time.

“Our periodic operating results may be affected in future periods by impacts of ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical events, as well as changes in industry or company-specific factors or events,” Berkshire said in the earnings report. “The pace of changes in these events, including international trade policies and tariffs, has accelerated in 2025. Considerable uncertainty remains as to the ultimate outcome of these events.”

“We are currently unable to reliably predict the potential impact on our businesses, whether through changes in product costs, supply chain costs and efficiency, and customer demand for our products and services,” it said.

The report comes as Berkshire enjoys a stellar year-to-date performance, while the broader market languishes. In 2025, Class A shares of Berkshire are up nearly 19%, while the S&P 500 is down 3.3% as uncertainty from tariffs pressures tech and other sectors.

Berkshire’s cash hoard ballooned to a fresh record during the first quarter, climbing to more than $347 billion from around $334 billion at the end of 2024, as Buffett continues to struggle to find opportunities to deploy the money.

Berkshire was a net seller of stocks for a 10th quarter in a row.

— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed reporting.