What Will Warren Buffett Bet on Next?

A different kind of Berkshire annual meeting

Tens of thousands of investors are flocking to Omaha this weekend, which can mean only one thing: It's time for Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, dubbed the "Woodstock for capitalists."

The allure had long been the chance to see Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger live, answering attendees' questions with a time-tested buddy-comedy act. But this year's event will be the first without Munger, who died in November at age 99 — and comes amid growing questions about Berkshire post-Buffett, who's 93.

Buffett will have a different crew answering questions alongside him on Saturday. Berkshire's vice chairmen, Greg Abel and Ajit Jain, will be on hand for much of the day. Shareholders most likely will be focused on what Abel, Buffett's appointed successor as C.E.O. and the head of the conglomerate's noninsurance operations, has to say.

In Buffett's annual letter to investors, he noted challenges to Berkshire's biggest businesses, including the BNSF railroad (falling shipment volumes) and its utility business (forest fires). Last month, the company's enormous real estate brokerage, HomeServices of America, also agreed to pay $250 million to settle lawsuits over inflated home-sales commissions.

Shareholders may want to hear what Jain, as the longtime mastermind behind Berkshire's vital reinsurance operations, has to say about the business that makes most of Buffett's investing possible.

Expect lots of questions about Berkshire's signature investments. The company's stock performance this year has outpaced that of Apple (one of Buffett's biggest investments; more on that below), Microsoft and Tesla, as well as the S&P 500.

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