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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (D)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED) May 6, 2023

 

 

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.

(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)

 

 

 

DELAWARE   001-14905   47-0813844

(STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION

OF INCORPORATION)

 

(COMMISSION

FILE NUMBER)

 

(I.R.S. EMPLOYER

IDENTIFICATION NO.)

 

3555 Farnam Street

Omaha, Nebraska

  68131
(ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES)   (ZIP CODE)

(402) 346-1400

REGISTRANT’S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Trading
Symbols

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Class A Common Stock   BRK.A   New York Stock Exchange
Class B Common Stock   BRK.B   New York Stock Exchange
1.300% Senior Notes due 2024   BRK24   New York Stock Exchange
0.000% Senior Notes due 2025   BRK25   New York Stock Exchange
1.125% Senior Notes due 2027   BRK27   New York Stock Exchange
2.150% Senior Notes due 2028   BRK28   New York Stock Exchange
1.500% Senior Notes due 2030   BRK30   New York Stock Exchange
2.000% Senior Notes due 2034   BRK34   New York Stock Exchange
1.625% Senior Notes due 2035   BRK35   New York Stock Exchange
2.375% Senior Notes due 2039   BRK39   New York Stock Exchange
0.500% Senior Notes due 2041   BRK41   New York Stock Exchange
2.625% Senior Notes due 2059   BRK59   New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).                        Emerging growth company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

 

 

 


ITEM 2.02

Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On May 6, 2023, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. issued a press release announcing the Company’s earnings for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. A copy of this press release is furnished with this report as an exhibit to this Form 8-K.

 

ITEM 5.03

Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year

 

  (a)

On May 7, 2023, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), voted to amend and restate the Company’s Bylaws effective immediately. Various sections of the Company’s Bylaws have been amended. The most significant bylaw changes were made to Section 2.10 – Advance Notice. Several of the changes to Section 2.10 were made in response to the SEC’s new Universal Proxy Rule, Rule 14a-19. Other changes to Section 2.10 related to various procedural matters required of shareholders proposing nominations and to certain information and assurances required of director nominees. Amendments to various other sections of the Bylaws were adopted to accommodate the possibility of virtual meetings; and to track certain provisions of Delaware General Corporate Law (“DGCL”) sections 222(a) and 222(c) regarding meeting notices, DGCL section 229 governing waiver of notices, DGCL section 141(c)(2-3) regarding the designation of committees of the Board, and to reflect the current provisions of DGCL section 158 allowing greater flexibility in permitted signatories.

The foregoing description of the amendment and restatement of the Bylaws does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Bylaws, attached hereto as Exhibit 3(ii) and incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 5.07

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

On May 6, 2023, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. held an annual meeting of its shareholders. The agenda items for the meeting along with the vote of the Company’s Class A and Class B common shareholders voting together as a single class with respect to each of the agenda items are shown below. There were nine items acted on at that meeting as follows: 1) Election of Directors; 2) A non-binding resolution to approve the compensation of Berkshire’s Named Executive Officers; 3) A non-binding resolution to determine the frequency with which shareholders shall be entitled to have an advisory vote on executive compensation; 4) A shareholder proposal regarding how the Company manages physical and transitional climate-related risks and opportunities; 5) A shareholder proposal regarding how climate-related risks are being governed by the Company; 6) A shareholder proposal regarding how the Company intends to measure, disclose and reduce GHG emissions associated with its underwriting, insuring and investment activities; 7) A shareholder proposal regarding the reporting on the effectiveness of the Corporation’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; 8) A shareholder proposal regarding the adoption of a policy requiring that two separate people hold the offices of the Chairman and the CEO; 9) A shareholder proposal requesting that the Company avoid supporting or taking a public policy position on controversial social and political issues. Following are the votes cast for and against each director.

 

Proposal 1 – Election of Directors      
     For      Against  

Warren E. Buffett

     471,669        18,143  

Charles T. Munger

     467,976        21,836  

Gregory E. Abel

     469,705        20,108  

Howard G. Buffett

     468,639        21,173  

Susan A. Buffett

     468,772        21,040  

Stephen B. Burke

     436,067        53,745  

Kenneth I. Chenault

     439,527        50,285  

Christopher C. Davis

     471,441        18,371  

Susan L. Decker

     422,181        67,631  

Charlotte Guyman

     422,688        67,124  

Ajit Jain

     469,601        20,211  

Thomas S. Murphy, Jr.

     476,525        13,287  

Ronald L. Olson

     468,578        21,234  

Wallace R. Weitz

     474,346        15,466  

Meryl B. Witmer

     476,508        16,904  

The results of the other matters acted upon at the meeting were as follows.

 

     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 2 – Advisory vote on executive compensation

     441,544        42,536        5,732  

 

     1 year      2 years      3 years      Abstain  

Proposal 3 – Advisory vote on the frequency of an advisory vote on executive compensation

     148,043        1,412        339,527        830  


     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 4 – Shareholder proposal

     130,435        356,907        2,470  

 

     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 5 – Shareholder proposal

     87,525        399,897        2,390  

 

     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 6– Shareholder proposal

     110,983        376,345        2,484  

 

     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 7– Shareholder proposal

     97,741        369,628        2,443  

 

     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 8– Shareholder proposal

     53,287        433,434        3,091  

 

     For      Against      Abstain  

Proposal 9– Shareholder proposal

     4,038        484,363        1,412  

 

ITEM 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

Exhibit 3(ii)   Bylaws (as amended and restated on May 7, 2023)
Exhibit 99.1   Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Earnings Release Dated May 6, 2023
Exhibit 104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

May 10, 2023     BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
   

/s/ Marc D. Hamburg

    By:   Marc D. Hamburg
    Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer