CEO Warren Buffett says he expects the coronavirus to have an impact on the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting on May 2. Every spring 40,000 shareholders flock to Omaha from around world to hear him speak.
But because shareholders come from all over the globe, places where the coronavirus is growing quickly now, he's expecting some sort of impact.
Past reports indicate that as many as 3,000 shareholders come from China to Omaha for the weekend. Buffett's assistant tells 6 News that "If the current travel restrictions remain in place, we won't have visitors from China."
While Omaha has been on the receiving end of four flights of quarantined Americans brought here specifically for medical care, most airlines have already stopped flying to China and now travel to South Korea and Hong Kong is being cut back.
Two other locations with large numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases. Berkshire Hathaway is reminding us that Yahoo finance will live stream the shareholder’s meeting, just like it has for the last few years, so if shareholders are unable to travel they can still watch online.
Berkshire Hathaway isn't sure how the overall attendance will be impacted by the coronavirus. Buffett's assistant says that will depend on the mind-set of Americans in mid-to-late April just before the shareholder's meeting here.