Billionaire Warren Buffett to release annual letter Saturday

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett will release his well-read annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders this weekend.

The letter will be posted on Berkshire’s website Saturday morning. It is always well read in the business world because so many investors follow Buffett because of his incredibly successful track record over the decades.

Shareholders will be eager to hear Buffett’s plans for the company’s massive pile of cash which totaled more than $149 billion at the end of the third quarter. Cash has continued to accumulate at the company because Buffett has struggled to find major acquisitions over the past several years.

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.

Buffett may also provide some additional details about the plan to eventually replace him. Buffett finally ended years of speculation last spring when he was named the Berkshire executive who will take over as CEO when he is gone although the 91-year-old has no plans to retire.

Buffett said last May that Berkshire Vice Chairman Greg Abel, who currently oversees all of the conglomerate’s non-insurance businesses, is set to take over as CEO.

The Omaha, Nebraska based company owns more than 90 businesses, including Geico insurance, BNSF railroad and several large utilities. It also holds large stock investments in Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and several other major companies.