Live updates: Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting

Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger has long been critical of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, he referred to it as being akin to a "venereal disease."

The 98-year-old isn't about to change his stripes now. He appeared to take a knock at Fidelity and other investment companies that plan to let people buy bitcoin for their 401(k) accounts.

Munger said that if an investment advisor wants you to put retirement money in bitcoin, "Just say no."

Munger also took a jab at online trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) and its recent struggles. He said the "unraveling" in the company's stock price is an example of "some justice," adding that the short-term oriented, gambling-like attitude to investing that it promoted was "disgusting."

Buffett attacked Robinhood at last year's annual meeting, saying that the company was “a very significant part of the casino aspect” of the market. Robinhood fought back, saying in a statement that "adversaries of this future and of change are usually those who’ve enjoyed plentiful privileges in the past and who don’t want these privileges disrupted." The statement, which also noted that the "criticisms are unfortunate," did not mention Buffett or Munger by name.

Some shareholders are calling for Warren Buffett to step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and just remain in his role as CEO. But Berkshire's vice chairman Charlie Munger isn't having any of it.

"It’s the most ridiculous criticism I’ve heard,” Munger said during Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha on Saturday.

Investors will vote on a proposal to split the roles at the end of Saturday's shareholder meeting. It is not expected to pass, even though the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and some other large institutional owners of Berkshire stock are in favor of it.

Munger said it doesn't make any sense for investors to ask for Buffett to give up one of his two positions, mainly because Berkshire Hathaway has done so well under the Oracle of Omaha's leadership. He quipped that it would be like telling Greek general Odysseus after he won the battle of Troy that "I don’t like how you hold your spear.”

Berkshire Hathaway famously does not pay a dividend. Instead, Warren Buffett prefers to reward shareholders by using its cash to buy stocks. Berkshire disclosed Saturday that it bought more than $51 billion in stock during the first quarter. It bought $3.2 billion of its own stock, a move that lowers share count and increases earnings per share.

However, Buffett told investors at the shareholder meeting Saturday that the company did not buy back any of its own shares in April...despite the nearly 9% drop this month in Berkshire's stock as the broader market sank. Berkshire shares are still up about 8% in 2022, beating the S&P 500, which has fallen 13%.

Buffett said the investing mood is "lethargic" currently but he added that the company still has a lot of cash on hand and will continue to use it for opportunistic investments.

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Oil giant Chevron (CVX) is now one of Berkshire Hathaway's largest holdings.

Berkshire disclosed in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Saturday that approximately two-thirds of the fair value of Berkshire's nearly $388 billion portfolio was in four companies -- and Chevron is one of them. The stock made up $25.9 billion of the portfolio, up from about $6 billion at the end of the fourth quarter.

The remaining top three investments are Apple (AAPL), which accounts for a whopping $159.1 billion of Berkshire's stock bets, Bank of America (BAC) and American Express (AXP). The latter two account for $42.6 billion and $28.4 billion, respectively.

Sure, most Berkshire Hathaway investors who attend the company's annual meeting to hear the wit and wisdom of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are fans of value stocks. But shareholders also love good bargains on Berkshire merchandise.

Berkshire's Fruit of the Loom booth, which sells the popular Berkshire briefs, was packed on Friday night.

The Oriental Trading booth was also a popular spot. I wasn't the only one who purchased these lucky ducks.

And at a time where the price of just about everything is skyrocketing higher, it's nice to see that there is still one super (and tasty) bargain.

Berkshire Hathaway may be beating the broader market this year. But Warren Buffett's conglomerate just reported a big drop in earnings for the first quarter, due to a slowdown in in its massive insurance business.

Berkshire said Saturday that its net income was $5.46 billion, down more than 50% from $11.71 billion a year ago.

But operating earnings, the method that Buffett prefers to look at since it backs out investment gains and losses, were up slightly to just over $7 billion. Berkshire was helped by solid increases in revenue at its railroad, energy and utilities businesses.

The company also put a large dent into its cash pile during the quarter following some big investments and acquisitions, including stakes in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and HP (HPQ), as well as the purchase of insurer Alleghany. Berkshire ended the first three months of 2022 with about $106.3 billion in cash, down from nearly $147 billion at the end of 2021.

Live from Nebraska...it's Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger!

Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.B) eagerly awaited annual shareholder meeting kicks off Saturday morning from the CHI Health Center in Omaha. It's the first meeting with shareholders in attendance since 2019.

It should be a victory lap for Buffett and vice chairman Munger. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway are up more than 10% this year and not far from a record high. So Berkshire is easily beating the market. The S&P 500 is down nearly 10%.

Buffett and Munger have a lot to gloat about. Top Berkshire holdings such as Coca-Cola (KO) and Kraft Heinz (KHC) are also thriving. The two food and beverage giants recently reported strong earnings and their stocks have soared this year.

Berkshire Hathaway owns a lot of consumer businesses. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that inflation is a concern for Warren Buffett's conglomerate. Jim Weber, CEO of Berkshire-owned running shoe and apparel maker, Brooks, said the company was hit by supply chain concerns in 2021. That led to a slight deceleration in sales.

Now Brooks is also dealing with higher costs of commodities and other raw materials, like rubber and plastic.

"We raised prices selectively where we thought we could," Weber said, adding that higher energy expenses might be a permanent issue that will impact shipping costs.

But despite these challenges, Weber said sales were still strong in 2021 and that revenue growth should also be healthy in 2022. Brooks reported annual revenue of more than $1 billion last year, a record for the company.

Warren Buffett is 91 years old. And he has already named Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Greg Abel as his eventual successor. But one analyst said he does not think Buffett is considering stepping aside any time soon.

"I've seen some questions about how long Warren Buffett is planning to stick around. But I don't see him as the type of guy to walk away," said Greggory Warren, financial services sector strategist with Morningstar, at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha on Friday. "I don't see him ever retiring. He loves what he does."

"But it would be nice to have some clarity," Warren said, adding that Berkshire stock would likely come under short-term pressure once Buffett either decides to retire or passes away.