Warren Buffett is bracing for a slowdown in the economy this year, and his top managers are acting accordingly.
“It is a different climate than it was six months ago,” Buffett told a packed house in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) annual meeting on Saturday.
Buffett added his managers “were surprised” by the economic conditions. As a result, many Berkshire companies will be employing sales to move excess inventory, Buffett suggested.
“In the general economy, the feedback we get is that perhaps the majority of our businesses will actually report lower earnings this year than last year,” Buffett added.
Berkshire posted a $35.5 billion first quarter profit on Saturday. The results reflect gains on stocks such as Apple (AAPL).
Higher investment income also benefited the bottom line, and the company repurchased some $4.4 billion in stock.
Some Berkshire-owned companies told Yahoo Finance Live on the ground they are seeing a more cautious consumer, but nothing…
This article was written by and originally published on finance.yahoo.com