Berkshire Hathaway 2026 Annual Meeting: Part 1 5/3/26

22:18thank you and it's how we manage Berkshire and we'll continue to manage Berkshire now that asset the cash and treasuries also creates a unique opportunity it creates the opportunity to deploy it across these different groups it can be and and and it will be dependent upon the opportunity i.e. is it a strong value proposition, but if it presents itself, we'll be prepared to act decisively and with significant capital. That's what it's there for. And we will and do have opportunities within the equity investments that we currently have and beyond that. We have our operating businesses, as I said, and there it can be deploying capital back into those businesses, as I touched on the capital expenditure side, or it can be the incremental opportunity to acquire 100 % of a business.

23:23And then there's the opportunities that Ajit's already alluded to on the insurance side. But what's the other unique thing is, yes, Berkshire's a conglomerate. and we recognize that, but we are a unique conglomerate in that we can move our capital very efficiently, and that's the value of the conglomerates. We can move our capital very efficiently across each of those groups. We can move it from insurance to non-insurance into equities, or if we so choose to hold it in cash or back across those in a very efficient way, in a very tax-efficient way. I would also add to the fact that how are we unique as a conglomerate?

24:09We live by the fact that we hate bureaucracy. We do not embrace in our... Thank you.

24:23Rajit's the biggest fan. He reminds me constantly, and I love it. I treasure it. But no, we've heard many times the ABCs, the arrogance, bureaucracy, complacency that can creep into a company, will kill a company. And we intend to never allow that to happen. So we have this unique opportunity to both take the businesses we have today, take that foundation and build upon it. We also have that capital to be deployed back into them. How will personally myself and the team define success? What defines success is can we ensure that Berkshire endures in its current form? That means we do business as we do today, consistent with the cultures, values, business principles we have, with the long-term objective and with great purpose and intent create long-term value for our shareholders.

25:25That will define success.

25:31Anyway, Greg, I'll let you take it from here.

25:34Becky Quick:I've got a few things on my plate. Actually, excuse me, I need to take this. Someone may want to sell me their business. I hope it's an elephant.

25:55Now, as you've all picked up, that was a deep fake. But here's the interesting thing. That was done with zero input from Warren. Voice, photo, you know. We were able to obtain that with information that's out there and replicate those actions and that voice. And the reality is that's what we're dealing with when we think of Berkshire and how we have to protect it every day. It can go to deep fakes and they're using a way to try to penetrate our business. It can be the cyber attacks, but it's a great reminder for our team because that is a significant risk across Berkshire that we're managing every day, cyber risk.

26:38And it's one that we take extremely serious. I touched on the technology side. We're constantly using technology to protect our businesses. And then we're also trying to use technology to identify it. A lot of us have heard about mythos and what's going on there. We're very focused on those risks. But, Ajit, before we move truly to our first question, and you've touched on this many times, When we think of cyber risk and we insure it, what's our current approach across our insurance businesses and your thoughts there? Okay, so cyber is something we worry about in the insurance operation at two levels.

27:30Firstly, there is a huge demand by people in business all over the world who are interested in buying protection against some kind of a cyber incident. We have been slow in terms of, consciously we have been slow in terms of entering that class of business as an underwriter. The reason for that is, firstly, on cyber, I find it very difficult to have some meaningful method to assess and model the aggregation. People will tell you, we've got it under control, and they'll show you all kinds of models, but nothing that I can really hang my hat on in terms of we really have a good feeling for what the aggregate exposure is.

28:19Because any risk we take on, the first question we ask ourselves, How bad can bad be? And I'm not sure we can answer that question as well as we should. So the second reason is cyber has been a very popular fashionable product in these last several years. We have not played in it. Now, as it turns out, there haven't been very many cyber losses. So people who've taken on cyber risk have actually made profits. and as a result of which the premiums that cyber insurance commands has been coming down over time. So we'd hate entering the line of business where prices are coming down. So we're sort of sitting on the sidelines, and I'm not sure when, but I'm pretty certain that the day will come when we will have a fairly significant role to play in cyber.

29:17Secondly, you know, we, being a large company, are exposed to cyber perils ourselves. We try and do the best we can. We, I think, are as good as anyone else. Now, cyber insurance is very highly regulated by the regulators, and we've been consistently above what the regulations call for. So I think we're doing the best we can, but I cannot be categorical about it. Thank you, Ajit.

29:54Let's go to the now truly the Q &A session. Becky, we'll start with you, and thank you for being so patient. Thank you. Thanks, Greg. This first question, Ajit, let's follow up with the AI. This is slightly different, though. This comes from Billy DeRoss in Ardsley, New York, who writes, In an era of increasingly complex risk models and AI tools, where does human judgment still provide Berkshire a competitive advantage?

30:30Okay. Can you just repeat the last part of the question? Yeah. Where is human judgment still a competitive advantage for Berkshire when you consider AI tools that are out there? Yeah. So AI also is very fashionable right now. People are jumping into it from the insurance space and from the non-insurance space. And clearly, if AI becomes reality as it's being projected, then there's no question about it. It'll be a huge game changer. Right now, what we are seeing is AI being used as a productivity tool, as a mechanism for reducing labor costs. and doing routine, repetitive things. I do not think AI will reach a point where you can make a trade-off on things like pricing, settling a claim.

31:28That is still years away, and I tend to be skeptical. I'll be surprised if AI can solve that problem for you. So if you're counting on AI telling you which stock to buy and which one to sell, I don't think that's going to happen. Ajit, I found it interesting. Ajit and I were together a few weeks ago, and Ajit got his team on the phone, because we were discussing this exact question, Becky. And Ajit, your team immediately went to, yes, the cyber risk, which we've already touched on. They then went quickly to the fact that really across the insurance businesses, and it's that building concept, that we were very focused on how do we become more efficient in creating code and managing it.

32:18They immediately went to that aspect of it. And then, as you touched on, becoming more productive, more efficient. And they went as far to say, I thought the example was really good. I mean, if we were looking at a risk and we had our traditional underwriters doing it, we might have looked at the five largest risks. and your team highlighted that now we can pretty much in a fairly quick way, yes, we focus on those, but we'll get a very quick view on another using technology. We'll probably look at those other 15 risks and have a strong view on it. Is that fair? Yeah, that's it. Exactly. So using it within the businesses but well aware it's evolving, I think, is a fair way.

33:01Mm-hmm. Yeah. So thank you. Thanks, Sujit. Thank you. Now, formally, Station 1. Unless, Warren, you're up there again.

33:12Becky Quick:Hi, everyone. My name is Lavia, and I'm from Irvine, California, born in Kunming, China. And I really want to say it's my honor to see both Mr. Buffett and Mr. Elbow today. I really want to say, Mr. Buffett, your speech has helped me get through many, many dark moments in my life and stand back up, not only in investment. I really appreciate you. Okay, my question is, as a young investor navigating both uncertainty and rapid technology change, I often struggle to balance patience with action. How would you personally distinguish between the two, please? Sure. I think one of our greatest strengths at Berkshire is patience and being disciplined when it comes to allocating our capital.

34:16There will be opportunities that come over time and for yourself. And it doesn't mean there's not opportunities now, but it doesn't mean you need to deploy all your capital or spend all your money right now. And that's really our approach. which we take every day and we recognize we've got a significant asset in our cash. And U.S. Treasury is using it ourselves as an example. And I would think of the cash you're holding is that. And that's an asset. It's a great opportunity. You'll feel the moment or feel there's a strong value proposition with an opportunity. When do we see those? We've outlined our investment philosophies, which is, one, we very much have to understand what we're investing in.

35:08So we want to have a strong... It can be you touched on technology and the things you're seeing there and the evolution and how fast it's all changing. I always start with, and I know we always have at Berkshire, do we understand this business? Do we understand the opportunity? And more importantly, do we understand the risks? then we want to have a very understandable view of what the economic prospects look like for the next five ten years not not yes the next year matters but we're not in that investment for a year it has to be a long-term view of where that where that opportunity will go we take it one piece one step further we're going to be in these investments forever so we think that way and we We like to have a strong view on the management team, that they're capable and operate with high integrity.

36:02And if we can get to that position, but the most part one being then at the end, the value has to work for us to deploy our capital. We're not anxious to just deploy capital into subpar opportunities. We want to know it meets our principles, and then we'll, as I said earlier, earlier will act decisively both quickly and with significant capital. Rajit, anything you'd like to? No. Thank you.

36:42Becky? Oh. This question is for Greg. and it comes from Mark Lunder in Miami, who says he's been a Berkshire shareholder for 30 years. He said, Greg, given your background as a business operator, which differs from Warren's roots as a public market investor, could you share how you balance your time between overseeing the wholly owned subsidiaries and the$288 billion now equity portfolio? Also, does your operator lens change how you evaluate new investment opportunities compared to Warren's historical approach? Thank you, Becky. So obviously, yes, the many years of operating a variety of Berkshire Hathrow Energy and then in the role of the vice chairman of non-insurance operations.

37:41Fortunately, that was, Gene and I were in those COVA roles for the past eight years, nine years now. But that created a very significant opportunity for myself personally to understand those businesses. And as I've already touched on, we have exceptional businesses, exceptional leadership there. But there's still opportunities there. But I'll spend a certain amount of time associated with those businesses and make sure we're allocating our capital properly and we're still thinking about risk across those businesses and encouraging operational excellence. Because, listen, having been inside a business, it's easy to look at your internal metrics and convince yourself you're doing okay.

38:32And you have to look outside and say, well, what is the customer seeing, feeling? What are our competitors doing? And I think that's what we can bring on the operational side. I've touched on bringing Adam on or him taking on the incremental role across 32 businesses. He'll bring that great operating knowledge, and we have a sheet on the insurance side. Now, when it comes to the equity portfolio and, again, allocating time, still we have significant opportunities there as we look at deploying our capital that's on the balance sheet. and I shared where our cash and U.S. Treasuries were. I would highlight, if you think of our equity portfolio as it exists today, I articulated this in the letter.

39:29It's in a very, we have a concentrated portfolio, and we highlighted that by calling it across the core, but the best name is really a concentrated portfolio of investments, And we had our core four concentrated investments I highlighted in the letter. We have our Japanese investments. And it's interesting, if you then go to the next number of companies where we have positions that are very significant, and I would add that associated with those we may still be acquiring shares or rationalizing what's the right position across that portfolio so the first group when I highlighted it was just under$200 billion and remains at that and closer to$185 billion right now you then add in associated with be it the other investments, you have a B of A, a Chevron, a Google, companies like that.

40:37There's another$70 billion of investments. And what that highlights is a very significant portion of our total investments are highly concentrated and sit across a limited portfolio. The active management of that is really limited, is really what I'm highlighting. We know those businesses well. We know the management teams. Those are the things that Warren and I would still be absolutely collaborating on and discussing. We don't have to discuss them every day, but if there's something going on across those businesses, we'd be discussing it that week or that month. And maybe it's where they're going or what we've learned.

41:20The Japanese companies just announced their results in the last 48 hours, and that was an active conversation that Warren and I had just around their results and the businesses and what we're seeing there yesterday morning. So those are core, but it doesn't mean we just set them aside or they're concentrated investments. We're constantly aware of them and evaluating them. Ted manages another$20 billion or just under$20 billion of our capital. And his responsibilities go far beyond that. He obviously helps us across a variety of our other opportunities or helping us assess risk or capital deployment in our businesses.

42:04So we're fortunate to have that. But it's a portfolio that's very manageable when you think of the management around it and what's required of it. As we've touched already, is the opportunity to deploy that cash in U.S. Treasuries at the right time is a very significant opportunity, including equities, including what we may see within the operating businesses and including the insurance side. So when it comes to allocating the time, Yes, there's a certain amount of time spent on operations, and we'll prioritize that because we see a huge opportunity to continue to improve and close those gaps in operational excellence.

42:58We see opportunities within our existing portfolio, but that is either adding to them or right-sizing it, and then constantly evaluating what other opportunities are out there, either in whole, totality, acquiring a company that's private or public, equally looking at what are the incremental opportunities if we're going to own a piece of a company. And those are evaluated in the same fashion, i.e., we look at, as I said, economics and really tied to the last answer. Ajit, any thoughts here? Yeah. I really think capital allocation and operating businesses are two sides of the same coin. and a comment that Warren had made several years ago I think goes a long way when he made the comment saying that a good capital allocator will make a good operating manager and vice versa.

44:03Well said, Ajit. I didn't say anything. Well said, Warren. No. But obviously we recognize it and the last thing I just say around that I mean, when you think of our operating companies, and I touched on this, we have a very deep bench. We have exceptional operators that understand their business. They understand their industry, their customers. Yes, do we still have opportunities to get better? Yeah, it's continuous improvement, and we'll close those gaps. But we have exceptional teams there. And myself, Adam, Ajit, we spend our time making sure we're comfortable how the capital is allocated. We understand the risks.

44:44And then are we aware of those gaps? So thank you, Becky. Let's move to station two.

44:57Good morning, Mr. Abel and Mr. Jin. My name is Jackie Han from China, currently working in Toronto, Canada. This is my ninth book share meeting. So I guess I'm officially a repeat customer. And like the most shareholders, I plan to stick around for the long term. Over the years, Mr. Buffett has often said that capital allocation is Berkshire's most important responsibility. Today, we are in a very different environment. In trades we saw higher, cash actually earned something again. And competition for quality assets has increased globally. The station lady actually read my mind a little bit. Actually, my question is, how should long-term investors think about their capital allocation approach today when patients have a real opportunity cost?

45:45And also for Mr. Abel, as you step further into this role, how do you personally balance patients' VA action, especially when standards are shaped by decades of Mr. Buffett's track record? Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for attending your ninth shareholder meeting. Yeah, so again, when it comes to our capital allocation, approach and the long-term approach we've taken, it's very much aligned with our owners and our shareholders that are here. They've taken a very long-term approach around their investment. We're fortunate to have this unique ownership base within our shareholdings. And again, And over the long term, there will be significant opportunities for Berkshire.

46:44And this is where it's back to the patience and the discipline around capital allocation. Do we have any idea what will occur tomorrow? Or will that event be three years from now, two years from now? But there will be dislocations in markets that, again, will allow us to act. And that's where the both disciplined approach, knowing how we're going to our investment philosophy around those activities. And I would add, it's not that we don't see exceptional companies out there today that we'd love to own. I'll be careful because I wouldn't want to say we long term, we'd be happy on those companies because there's excellent companies that have excellent management teams.

47:32that we evaluate. And I would say when you think of the world, it doesn't mean there's multiple handfuls of those type of companies, but they're there. But the price relative to the opportunity, the economic prospects of that company and the related risks, we're not interested in acquiring those companies at that price. And that can be a piece of them or all of them. That doesn't mean that opportunity won't be there in the future. It's what we spend our time preparing for, i.e., one, being disciplined, but two, being aware of some core opportunities we would treasure or value at the right price.

48:20And that really ties back to the discipline. and you asked me personally my plan for for patients for over maybe quote action again it aligns to I took this role and and so fortunate being in work with Rajit and others but we do it because we we love and believe in Berkshire Warren brought this great commitment to to Berkshire a great understanding of Berkshire and passion. And with that, he wanted to create something that was very long-term, including the opportunities it would create. Personally, and I know all of us, we bring that same passion. And we fully intend to do it consistent with how we've done it in the past.

49:14So thank you.

49:22Yeah, Ajit, please, I should have. Thank you. You know, insurance, much like investing, is a game that requires patience. And it is very difficult to get people to sit back and do nothing. When I recruit people, my modus operandi, I tell them right up front, I said, I tell them your job is to say no you will get bombarded with deals day in and day out but your base case is just say no I said every now and then you will come across a deal that will hit you with a 2x4 and it will be screaming money that's when you come to me and we'll make a decision whether to do it or not

50:21You know, all kidding aside, it is very difficult to sit there and do nothing while everyone else is being vined and dined by brokers and taken to London. I think the real test of being successful, certainly in insurance and therefore investing as well, is the ability to say no. Yes. Well said.

50:47I think it applies to insurance, and I think your earlier comment, I mean, it's so applicable across all our businesses. It did remind me of one story, and I'll just share it quickly. We'd acquired a company, and we were still having a challenging matter with how we were going to resolve some matters. And I remember the deposition, and I don't want to say it's one of my most proudest moments, but it was close to it. They said, well, how would you describe Greg as a CEO and a manager? And they said, well, all he says is no. And I think that's part of management. You have to be ready, including investment.

51:29You have to be disciplined and ready to say no. And trust me, we understand that a lot of people have this urgency to act. But, Uji, you described it incredibly well. Thank you. Let's go back to Becky. Thanks, Greg. This question is for Ajit, and the writer is Mindy Wasserman. The question is, how and when can you offer insurance to ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz? I mean, the short answer is depends on the price.

52:17Ajit, I like your Charlie answer.

52:24Obviously, some thought has gone into that because there's a lot of dynamics there. Yeah, there is a lot of chatter. There's a lot of need. Fortunately, there's enough capacity in the world today that would like to right that risk. For no other reason but people are sitting on excess capital and they'd like to find a way to deploy that excess capital. We ourselves have taken small participation in a program that's being put in place so as to write insurance for the ships in the Strait of Hormuz. We haven't written any deals as yet. It's still being fine-tuned, but if we can get our terms in terms of the underwriting decisions and the fact that the U.S.

53:15Navy will escort these shifts, we have put a price on which we will be comfortable underwriting that risk. But nothing has happened as yet. Thank you. Thanks, Ajit. Thanks, Becky. Station 3.

53:35Good morning, Mr. Abel. My name is Jia Shen, and I'm from China. So my question is about the key investing principle staying within your circle of competence. I imagine you and Mr. Buffett each have a somewhat different circle of competence. So how do you plan to manage the portfolio established by Warren Buffett? Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, as far as managing the existing portfolio and what's in that, that portfolio, as you touched on, was put together by Warren. but it is a group of companies that Warren understands thoroughly and I would be very comfortable that I understand the businesses, the economic prospects of those businesses.

54:39And that's why when I outlined it in the letter, I was really trying to send the message that, yes, we're very comfortable with those. We understand it, and yes, it's a concentrated portfolio, but their businesses will evolve, and there's risks that may surface, so we'll constantly evaluate it, but it's a portfolio very, very comfortable with. And Warren touched on Tim Cook's amazing success with Apple, but Warren and Tim were recently discussing this, and they were talking about Warren didn't invest in it because he saw it as a technology stock. He saw what the product was and how much the individual consumer valued it.

55:29And it's a remarkable perspective, but it would be very much a similar perspective that I think many of us would apply. Maybe electricity, I know a lot. I know how to make sure something gets generated and how we're going to transfer and all that. But am I really that interested in how they make the Apple phone? I'll be intrigued by where they make it and some of the risks and challenges around that. But I do fully, in our team, when we talk about it on a more broad basis, we're looking and saying, do we understand the value and why that product has value? And it's really that value to the consumer.

56:09I think the unique opportunity we have, and so fortunate, is that Warren comes into the office each day. It's fortunate that we get to discuss potential other opportunities that may be out there, bringing a different set of skill sets. But in the end, we're going to narrow pretty quickly down to what's the opportunity? Why is it valued? Why does the consumer, whoever's using it, whatever industry it is, why will that company and that product endure? And then associated with that, where are the risks associated with that? And that pretty much is how Warren approached it, how I approach it. So when it comes to our existing portfolio, yes, we'll always be well aware of what we've invested in.

57:06But as far as understanding those, the opportunities and risks within them, very comfortable that we have a strong view on that, and we're comfortable where we're at. Thank you.

57:22Did you eat anything there? No, I'm glad. Okay. Berkji? This question is for Greg, but I think it's important that you take it while Ajit's on stage with you so he can answer some of it too. It comes from Zachary Phelps from Medfield, Massachusetts, who writes, Ajit Jain has been described by Warren as irreplaceable. He's helped build one of the greatest insurance operations in history and has been the backbone of Berkshire's underwriting discipline. How are you thinking about succession planning for Ajit and the insurance business, and how do you ensure that the underwriting culture, the insurance moat, is preserved in the next generation of leaders?

58:00And Greg, I'll just add for compression's sake, I did get questions about your succession planning too, so maybe you can add that in there.

58:10I don't know how I'm supposed to take that.

58:17no both succession obviously succession's an important topic and I'll come back to our board both relative to Ajit and I and I touched on this earlier I mean Ajit joined Berkshire in 1986 and is the architect of our insurance business along with obviously Warren and input from Charlie but it's a we've created a franchise that's second to none, and we couldn't be more proud of it. And as it was touched on, the culture and the discipline within it is exceptional. Now, I found it really interesting, and I, you know, when Warren announced the transition last year, and as you don't recall this, the very first thing that happened was we left that meeting, there's a lot going on, and Warren said, to Ajit, but then also myself, let's get the insurance managers together, our top five, along with Ajit and with Mark Hamburg.

59:17And let's sit down and talk about the business. Let's discuss the culture. And it was a remarkable opportunity for me to, one, expand my knowledge base on the insurance side. And I've obviously been working with Ajit for a number of years and and other board opportunities where I had a wide understanding of it. But then to spend time with Ajit and our team and have Warren's perspectives, it was great. And that was literally the first action Warren took. And what I could see within that group was a very deep group of management experience, insurance experience. and they absolutely had the same values and culture that Ajit has highlighted.

1:00:06Now, I think when it comes to culture, Ajit touched on it already, which is it is challenging to keep a culture where you maintain that discipline. Because as he said, inaction and telling people, you know, take a few months off when they're used to being active is not easy if they're that type of underwriter or selling products. So that's the delicate balance. But when it comes to G, we're fortunate. He's got an exceptional group that works with him and then also operates a number of our critical subsidiaries. They're deep in both knowledge and talent. I would then also highlight our board takes the succession issues very sincerely, both with Ajit and myself.

1:00:56We have a plan. They have a plan in place, and they discuss it. So if Ajit were unable to perform in his role today, or I was unable to perform, our board knows what action they would take. Ajit? Yeah. So in terms of the culture and the underwriting orientation, which is so critical, there are a few simple rules that I've followed over the years. And it's come at a cost, but I think net-net is still a positive. Let me just lay it out in terms of how I think about this issue. Firstly, we have a very small number of people who actually get involved in the decision-making. My top three lieutenants in my reinsurance operation, forgetting about companies that we acquire, we have been together for 35-plus years now.

1:02:03And we've become friends. and the other thing to minimize any kind of competition among these people and stepping on each other's toes we have a compensation plan that gives fixed salaries fixed compensation to the individuals as opposed to having some complex formula that results in they get the upside and Berkshire gets the downside I try and stay away from that as much as possible So it's really a problem with all the compensation plans I've seen.

1:02:39Then the other thing that is important is people need to have experienced going through a tough time and the fact that it doesn't penalize them. We insulate them from the ups and downs of the marketplace so that they feel secure and they do the right thing. and yeah, so those are the elements that I think allow us to have a long term orientation and not get sucked into the latest fashion of the year and just do stuff for the sake of do it Your compensation question, such a critical point, Ajit Yeah, the compensation thing having seen all these programs over the years, I remember having mentioned to Warren at some point in time.

1:03:30I said, Warren, you give me a compensation plan. I'll game it. You'll not be able to figure it out for years down the road. And that was the problem, together with the fact that if the employees lose, they want to go back and renegotiate the plan. And if they win, they're happy to walk away with everything. So that's the big challenge. Thank you. Thank you, Ajit. Thank you, Becky. We'll go to station four.

1:04:05Becky Quick:Hello, Mr. Abel. My name is Kansas, and I attend Elkwin South High School in West Omaha. Mr. Abel, you may remember me from last year, and I'm here to question your company's business model again. It is compromising my future and the planet's future. Mr. Abel, in your first letter to shareholders, you wrote Berkshire Hathaway avoids businesses that undermine the fabric of society. But Berkshire's electric utilities continue to invest in fossil fuels that are driving the climate crisis. Can you tell me and my graduating class when Berkshire Hathaway's utilities will retire their fossil fuels, transition to renewable alternatives, and stop causing irreparable damage to the environment and my generation's future?

1:04:50Becky Quick:Thank you.

1:05:00Thank you. I had a very long and extensive answer last year to the question. And it is an important one, but I think it's one we have to recognize. When we have, I'll touch on rail too, we have certain companies where we very much operate, and this would be our utilities, It would be including our pipelines. We operate as a steward of those assets. We operate as a steward of those assets effectively for our states and for our customers. And whenever we approach resources, for example, that we may own or what we're going to build, is very much first and foremost, we absolutely need to comply with the current laws that are in place, including the federal laws.

1:06:07So we know what those parameters are. And as we see federal law and state law across our many states, but the federal law, there are things they do and there are things implemented to reduce the impact on the environment. We're very sensitive to that, and our teams are absolutely committed to both complying and absolutely doing it right. I would then add that if we're discussing our facilities, for example, across the river in Iowa, we have plans on resources and when we'll retire our coal units, potentially, and our gas units. that's very much driven by state policy. The state will decide, i.e.

1:06:59through their policy legislature and through our regulatory processes, how we'll operate, how long we operate these assets. Because in the end, it's those customers that both bear the cost and bear the risk. And very much, we are very respectful of that. And as I said, we're stewards of that. Do we provide input into that process? Absolutely. So, for example, I know I touched on this last year, but if I look at our Iowa utility,

1:07:35this changes every year because of the load growth we've discussed. But if we look at on a 12-month, 365-day period,

1:07:4893, it'll be very close on this, approximately 93 % of our energy came from renewable energy. That's remarkable.

1:08:03They absolutely lead the nation, and we've done that in a way where we could do it in an affordable way. But yes, we still have our carbon resources there. We still operate our coal plants. We need them to deliver, as I would call, protection to the system. It stabilizes it, and there's peak times we need it. But do we use them less? Absolutely. But that's a policy our state made many years ago, and we provided a lot of input, as I said, and we've deployed the capital to ensure that could be delivered. But the reality is, state by state, they'll decide what resources we'll deploy to serve the customers.

1:08:50And they'll also very much provide us input on when we'll retire our units. The real challenge going forward, and it's well beyond Iowa, because I think Iowa and our other utilities, we approach it in a very prudent way, and we've got one, i.e. prudently, we're doing it consistent with our state policy, but we want to do it in a, call it a frugal way. We're trying to, we're not building for just sake of building. We're trying to do things that we feel are best for our states. But the challenge is when you talk about the hyperscalers and the data centers, it's putting a lot of pressure on the system, and there'll be a, you know, if you look at the amount of gas units purchased, there'll be an incremental amount of carbon units used as we go forward if that's going to be a valued, if artificial intelligence and the consumers want that, and that's a valued product, it's going to put a lot of pressure on the systems and on the type of assets we use and the industry uses.

1:10:00Ajit, anything on the insurance side? Because I know you've gone on the insurance side as far as what do we insure, how do we approach it? Yeah, so right now in the insurance sphere the supply is greater than the demand and that makes it very difficult to be able to carve out a deal that rationally is good for the buyer and the seller. When supply is greater than demand then it's the seller that loses. So because of that, we haven't been active in getting involved in writing insurance for these new facilities, the data centers. The hyperscalers. Yeah. Yeah. But clearly there is a surge in demand and as long as supply doesn't go crazy, we will get a few days in the sun sometime in the next few years.

1:11:03Yeah. Thank you, Gene. Very valid question, but again, very, very proud. I would say literally proud because I think the one thing we've always emphasized across our utilities, across our regulated entities, I would include BNSF. They have to move certain product that has certain risks and dangers around it. We are a carrier of that. We have to. That's an obligation that came with that railroad. just like our utilities. There are certain things we do that are absolutely required and the key is that we do it consistent with what's required both federally and at the state level and that we're exceptional stewards of the underlying assets.

1:11:51So with that, I just, we're going to move, Ajit, thank you. We're going to move to our next session.

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