Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett downplayed on Saturday the idea of a first-ever dividend for shareholders, as he opened his conglomerate's annual meeting for tens of thousands of people. Berkshire, which some estimate will have a cash pile of $50 billion by the end of this year, does not offer shareholders a yield, which most people have accepted for years. But lately, some have said shareholders might like the company to return cash.
"I'm not sure how many would," Buffett said, responding to a question from a scrum of reporters and shareholders following him through the exhibit floor of the Qwest Center in Omaha. Many of Berkshire's portfolio companies have booths on the floor, demonstrating and selling their products.
Berkshire Hathaway shares have underperformed the broader S&P 500 since the depth of the credit crisis, raising the volume on the dividend question. Yet Buffett was in a light-hearted mood as his walked the exhibits, despite questions about performance and the scandal over investments by former Berkshire executive David Sokol.
As is his custom, he made a beeline for the Dairy Queen booth to get an orange cream bar, which he continued to munch on as he admired a model train set at the Burlington Northern booth. Though Buffett is expected to be grilled over the course of the day about Sokol, the meeting began, as it does annually, on a lighter note.
The early highlight was the ice-cream-to-insurance conglomerate's annual movie. This year, the animated short featured Buffett defeating an evil trading machine called "MBA" from the year 2085 with the help of "the Governator," former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger and Larry King were among the celebrities who made voice cameos in the movie.
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