Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading: General Motors — The automaker saw its stock rise 4% after it posted $2.62 per share on revenues of $43.01 billion for the first quarter. Analysts expected $2.15 per share on revenues of $41.92 billion, per LSEG. GM also raised expectations for adjusted automotive free cash flow to between $8.5 billion and $10.5 billion, from an earlier forecast of between $8 billion and $10 billion. GE Aerospace — Shares gained more than 4% after the company posted earnings of 82 cents per share for the first quarter on revenues of $16.1 billion. The results were better than analysts’ expectations of 65 cents per share on revenues of $15.14 billion, according to LSEG. United Parcel Service — The stock lost 0.8% as UPS’s first quarter earnings topped estimates but revenue came in below forecasts amid muted demand for small-package delivery. UPS posted $1.43 adjusted earnings per share while analysts had estimated $1.29 earnings per share, according to LSEG. Pepsico — Shares of the snack and beverage company edged lower despite a stronger-than-expected first quarter . Pepsico reported $1.61 in adjusted earnings per share on $18.52 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $1.52 per share on $18.07 billion of revenue. The company maintained its full-year guidance for 2024. Novartis — U.S.-listed shares popped 5% after the Swiss drugmaker beat expectations for its first quarter and raised its full-year guidance. JetBlue Airways — The airline tumbled 10.5% after the company reported that current-quarter revenue is expected drop more than analysts anticipated . That comes after JetBlue saw $2.21 billion in sales for the first quarter, in line with the LSEG consensus estimate.6. Elsewhere, JetBlue lost 43 cents per share in the first quarter, smaller than the 52-cent figure predicted by Wall Street Cleveland-Cliffs — The stock slid 2% a day after the steel producer’s first-quarter results fell short of analysts’ expectations. Cleveland-Cliffs reported adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share on revenue of $5.2 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected earnings of 22 cents per share and revenue of $5.35 billion. SAP — U.S.-listed shares moved nearly 4% higher a day after the German enterprise software company reported first-quarter revenue that topped expectations. Adjusted earnings per share came in slightly below the consensus estimate. SAP also reaffirmed its full-year guidance. Nucor — Shares tumbled 7% a day after the steelmaker reported first-quarter earnings of $3.46 per share, below the $3.67 consensus estimate, per FactSet. Revenue was also weaker than expected. Nucor also warned of lower second-quarter earnings. Danaher — The life sciences firm popped more than 8% after beating analysts expectations for its first-quarter results. Danaher reported adjusted earnings of $1.92 per share on revenue of $5.80 billion, coming in above the $1.72 per share on revenue of $5.62 billion that analysts had expected, according to FactSet. Lockheed Martin — The defense company’s stock advanced 1.5% after posting a top- and bottom-line beat. Lockheed reported $6.39 earnings per share on $17.2 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had estimated $5.83 earnings per share and revenue of $16.02 billion. The company reported growth in every segment. Spotify — Shares rallied 8.4% after the music streaming company’s first-quarter revenues beat analysts’ expectations. Spotify reported 3.64 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in revenue, compared with the 3.61 billion euros consensus estimate, per LSEG. Sherwin-Williams — The stock shed 3.5% following its first-quarter earning results. Sherwin-Williams reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.17, missing the FactSet consensus estimate of $2.22. Revenue of $5.37 billion also fell short of the $5.50 billion expected from analysts. — Hakyung Kim, Tanaya Macheel, Alex Harring, Jesse Pound and Lisa Han contributed reporting. Correction: Spotify reported its first-quarter earnings in euros. An earlier version misstated the currency.
OMAHA, Nebraska — Warren Buffett said Saturday his designated successor Greg Abel will have the final say on Berkshire Hathaway’sinvesting decisions when the Oracle of Omaha is no longer at the helm.
“I would leave the capital allocation to Greg and he understands businesses extremely well,” Buffett told an arena full of shareholders at Berkshire’s annual meeting. “If you understand businesses, you’ll understand common stocks.”
Abel, 61, became known as Buffett’s heir apparent in 2021 after Charlie Munger inadvertently made the revelation at the shareholder meeting. Abel has been overseeing a major portion of Berkshire’s sprawling empire, including energy, railroad and retail.
Buffett offered the clearest insight into his succession plan to date after years of speculation about the exact roles of Berkshire’s top executives after the eventual transition. The investing icon, who’s turning 94 in August, said his decision is influenced by how much Berkshire’s assets have grown.
“I used to think differently about how that would be handled, but I think that responsibility should be that of the CEO and whatever that CEO decides may be helpful,” Buffett said. “The sums have grown so large at Berkshire, and we do not want to try and have 200 people around that are managing a billion each. It just doesn’t work.”
Berkshire’s cash pile ballooned to nearly $189 billion at the end of March, while its gigantic equity portfolio has stocks worth a whopping $362 billion based on current market prices.
“I think what you’re handling the sums that we will have, you’ve got to think very strategically about how to do very big things,” Buffett added. “I think the responsibility ought to be entirely with Greg.”
While Buffett has made clear that Abel would be taking over the CEO job, there were still questions about who would control the Berkshire public stock portfolio, where Buffett has garnered a huge following by racking up huge returns through investments in the likes of Coca-Cola and Apple.
Berkshire investing managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, both former hedge fund managers, have helped Buffett manage a small portion of the stock portfolio (about 10%) for about the last decade. There was speculation that they may take over that portion of the Berkshire CEO role when he is no longer able.
But it seems, based on Buffett’s latest comments, that Abel will have final decisions on all capital allocation — including stock picks.
“I think the chief executive should be somebody that can weigh buying businesses, buying stocks, doing all kinds of things that might come up at a time when nobody else is willing to move,” Buffett said.
Abel is known for his strong expertise in the energy industry. Berkshire acquired MidAmerican Energy in 1999 and Abel became CEO of the company in 2008, six years before it was renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2014.
Correction: Berkshire’s equity portfolio is worth $362 billion. A previous version misstated the figure.
Warren Buffett walks the floor ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2024.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett revealed that he dumped Berkshire Hathaway’s entire Paramount stake at a loss.
“I was 100% responsible for the Paramount decision,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting. “It was 100% my decision, and we’ve sold it all and we lost quite a bit of money.”
Berkshire owned 63.3 million shares of Paramount as of the end of 2023, after cutting the position by about a third in the fourth quarter of last year, according to latest filings.
The Omaha-based conglomerate first bought a nonvoting stake in Paramount’s class B shares in the first quarter of 2022. Since then the media company has had a tough ride, experiencing a dividend cut, earnings miss and a CEO exit. The stock declined 44% in 2022 and another 12% in 2023.
Paramount
Just this week, Sony Pictures and private equity firm Apollo Global Management sent a letter to the Paramount board expressing interest in acquiring the company for about $26 billion. The firm has also been having takeover talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
Paramount has struggled in recent years, suffering from declining revenue as more consumers abandon traditional pay-TV, and as its streaming services continue to lose money. The stock is in the red again this year, down nearly 13%.
Buffett said the unfruitful Paramount bet made him think more deeply about what people prioritize in their leisure time. He previously said the streaming industry has too many players seeking viewer dollars, causing a stiff price war.
OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett said that Berkshire Hathaway is looking into an investment in Canada.
“We do not feel uncomfortable in any shape or form putting our money into Canada,” he told an arena full of investors Saturday. “In fact, we’re actually looking at one thing now.”
The billionaire investor has placed bets in the country in the past. He’s previously taken a roughly $300 million position in Home Capital Group that investors took as a vote of confidence in the troubled Canadian mortgage underwriter.
The “Oracle of Omaha” said during the annual shareholder meeting that he does not expect to make significant bets outside the U.S., saying his recent investments in Japanese trading houses were a compelling exception. But Buffett noted the similarity in operations between the Canada and the U.S.
“There’s a lot of countries we don’t understand at all,” Buffett said. “So, Canada, it’s terrific when you’ve got a major economy, not the size of the U.S., but a major economy that you feel confident about operating there.”
Warren Buffett walks the floor and meets with Berkshire Hathaway shareholders ahead of their annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3rd, 2024.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Buffett did not reveal the specific company he’s looking at north of the border or whether it was public or private.
“Obviously, there aren’t as many big companies up there as there are in the United States,” Buffett said. “There are things we actually can do fairly well that Canada could benefit from Berkshire’s participation.”
Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index is up about 5% this year. The economy has large financial and commodity industries.