Warren Buffett to release annual shareholder letter this week

Berkshire currently owns more than 90 businesses and holds stock in several major companies, including Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola

Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett is planning to release his annual letter to shareholders on Saturday morning. 

In a Monday, May 8, 2017 file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett gestures during an interview by Liz Claman of the Fox Business Network in Omaha, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Along with the letter, Berkshire will disclose its fourth quarter earnings results as well as information regarding its upcoming shareholder meeting scheduled for April 30, a Wednesday news release stated.  

WARREN BUFFETT CLEARS UP ACTIVISION STOCK PURCHASE SPECULATION

Investors will be looking for guidance on how the company plans to leverage its massive cash pile, which totaled more than $149 billion as of the end of the third quarter. 

The biggest investment Berkshire has made in recent years has been buying back its own stock. In just the first nine months of last year, Buffett spent more than $20 billion repurchasing Berkshire’s stock, and that likely continued in the fourth quarter.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BRK.A BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 676,460.00 -6,140.10 -0.90%

Buffett could also potentially share additional details on his succession plans. Last May, the 91-year-old billionaire said that vice chairman Greg Abel would take over as chief executive officer when the time came for Buffett to retire. 

Greg Abel, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. ( Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It's unclear whether Buffett will address Berkshire's recent purchase of Activision before it was acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion. 

He recently, in a rare public statement, blasted skeptics who speculated the timing of the purchase, which was made by one of his two investment lieutenants who operate independently of him.  

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
ATVI NO DATA AVAILABLE - - -
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 406.35 -26.18 -6.05%

He clarified in a letter posted to Berkshire Hathaway's website that the company had "no prior knowledge" of the Activision-Microsoft deal. 

Greg Abel, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co. ( Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The Omaha, Nebraska-based company currently owns more than 90 businesses across the insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, manufacturing, retailing and services sectors. Abel currently oversees all of Berkshire's non-insurance businesses. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AXP AMERICAN EXPRESS CO. 270.16 -3.98 -1.45%
AAPL APPLE INC. 225.91 -4.19 -1.82%
BAC BANK OF AMERICA CORP. 41.81 -0.53 -1.25%
BK THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP. 75.34 -0.58 -0.76%
KO THE COCA-COLA CO. 65.31 -0.61 -0.93%

Berkshire also holds stakes in several major companies, including American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon and Coca-Cola, according to its latest 13F filing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report