Buffett: Berkshire to See Smaller Returns
Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathawayundefined, cautioned investors his company will have a hard time matching its past success, according to published media reports.
Speaking at his Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha, Neb. Saturday, Buffett warned that in coming years returns from his company's equity portfolio, as well as gains from its own stock, won't be as strong as they have been in past decades, according to a
MarketWatch
report.
The so-called Oracle of Omaha suggested that Berkshire is a victim of its own success. The company has become so big that it finds it difficult to locate investments large enough to provide a significant impact to its results, Buffett said, according to the report.
Buffett, who is known for his folksy wisdom and straighforward pronouncements, said he would be happy if his company could generate 10% annual gains from common stocks but questioned whether that would happen, the report added.
"Anyone that expects us to come close to replicating the past should sell their stock," the report quoted Buffett as saying. "It's not going to happen."
Speaking before tens of thousands of investors gathered at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Buffett also discussed the performance of Berkshire Hathaway Assurance, the municipal-bond insurer he launched four months ago, according to a report in
The Wall Street Journal
Buffett said the business had volume exceeding $400 million in the first quarter and so far has completed 278 transactions, according to the
Journal
.
Late Friday, Berkshire Hathaway reported its first-quarter earnings fell by more than half from a year before, primarily because of declines in the values of derivatives it holds.
The company's class-A shares lost $300 Friday to close at $133,600.
This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.