Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) Direct From Omaha: A Key Message From Warren Buffett

We’re still only a couple hours into the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) annual meeting, but there’s a significant theme already surfacing in Warren Buffett’s comments. In a word: size.

And yes, to quell your curiosity, Buffett did, in fact, say that size does matter.

Jokes aside, Doug Kass, the big, bad Berkshire bear, challenged Buffett and Charlie Munger on whether Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s size would impede future returns. The easy answer is, of course — and it’s been answered many times over the years — yes. There are certain opportunities that start to disappear as Berkshire gets ever larger.

However, through the first couple hours of the meeting, both Buffett and Munger returned to the theme that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s size and financial give the company huge competitive advantage. How many companies out there have billions in liquid cash available to jump on opportunities at a moment’s notice? How many have managers of the right mettle to put that capital to work when the market is in disarray?

This theme should bring to mind Berkshire’s crisis-era investments in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), as well as its investment a few years later in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) . We could probably throw the recent H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) deal into the mix as well. In all cases, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s reputation, ability to move quickly, and its huge bank account put it in a position to snag investment opportunities not available to anyone else.

In other words, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) is rapidly turning a growing challenge into a growing advantage. And that’s an advantage that Buffett doesn’t expect to go away even if the Oracle himself is no longer around.

Of course, let’s not exaggerate this point. Buffett quipped that “Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) is the 800 number when there’s really sort of panic in the markets and for one reason or another people need extra capital.” But he also said “that hasn’t been our main business, but it’s been fine.”

The article Direct From Omaha: A Key Message From Warren Buffett originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Matt Koppenheffer.

Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Goldman Sachs, and H.J. Heinz Company. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, and General Electric Company.

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