THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO leaders are gathering in the Netherlands for the start of a historic two-day summit that could unite the 32-member security organization around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a media conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference after the plenary session at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, from left, President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gather with NATO country leaders for a family photo during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is greeted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, and Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, left, at an official welcome during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump, left, walks by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen prior to a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump leaves after a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Police detain a protester during a rally against the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
President Donald Trump watches Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a press conference after the plenary session at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump, Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio, center, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth arrive for a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof, front row from fifth left, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose with NATO country leaders for a family photo during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit as Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio, right, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth listen, in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Demonstrators protest against the NATO summit as police follow them in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Police detain a protester during a rally against the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
President Donald Trump, center left, walks by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center front, prior to a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Front row left to right, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pose during a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump, center front, poses during a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
NATO heads of state and government pose for a group photo during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump poses with Netherland's King Willem Alexander and Netherland's Queen Maxima at the Paleis Huis den Bosch prior to attending a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Frank van Beek, Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, third left, and Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, center, arrive for the NATO defense forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
From left, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose as they meet on the sidelines of the two-day NATO's Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, right, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the Catshuis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump, right, is welcomed by Netherland's King Willem Alexander, Netherland's Queen Maxima and Netherland's Crown Princess Amalia as he arrives for a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Misha Schoemakers, Pool Photo via AP)
US President Donald Trump, center left, along with the King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, center, poses for a family photo at the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump climbs the stairs to the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump arrives for a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A member of the household staff closes a door as NATO heads of state and government attend a dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives for a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
NATO heads of state and government attend a dinner with Netherland's King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump, center, attends a dinner of NATO heads of state and government at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, walks with New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, arrives at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of a dinner on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
A police sharpshooter monitors the area ahead of a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer take their seat at the beginning of an E3 meeting at a hotel on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana, left, arrive at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of a dinner on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. security personnel use a measuring tape to establish the required height for the boarding stairs that will be used for Air Force One ahead of President Donald Trump's arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, visits the Netherlands marines training base, as part of the UK-Netherlands Joint Amphibious Force in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. (Ben Stansall/Pool via AP)
President Donald Trump exits Air Force One as he arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, speaks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speak prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pose for photographers prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Claudia Greco, Pool Photo via AP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses the audience during the NATO defense forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Kin Cheung, Pool)
Security patrol around the perimeter of the venue in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025 ahead of the upcoming NATO summit. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
International flags on the venue ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a media conference ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Inside view of the conference hall for the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on his way to The Hague, to join world leaders gathering in the Netherlands for a two-day NATO summit. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Security patrol around the perimeter of the venue in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025 ahead of the upcoming NATO summit. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, right, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the Catshuis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on his way to The Hague, to join world leaders gathering in the Netherlands for a two-day NATO summit. The Washington Monument stands right. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a media conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025 ahead of the NATO summit. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a media conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference after the plenary session at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, from left, President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gather with NATO country leaders for a family photo during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is greeted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, and Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, left, at an official welcome during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump, left, walks by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen prior to a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump leaves after a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Police detain a protester during a rally against the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
President Donald Trump watches Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a press conference after the plenary session at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump, Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio, center, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth arrive for a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof, front row from fifth left, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose with NATO country leaders for a family photo during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit as Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio, right, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth listen, in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Demonstrators protest against the NATO summit as police follow them in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Police detain a protester during a rally against the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
President Donald Trump, center left, walks by Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center front, prior to a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Front row left to right, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pose during a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump, center front, poses during a group photo of NATO heads of state and government at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
NATO heads of state and government pose for a group photo during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump poses with Netherland's King Willem Alexander and Netherland's Queen Maxima at the Paleis Huis den Bosch prior to attending a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Frank van Beek, Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, third left, and Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey, center, arrive for the NATO defense forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
From left, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose as they meet on the sidelines of the two-day NATO's Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, right, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the Catshuis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump, right, is welcomed by Netherland's King Willem Alexander, Netherland's Queen Maxima and Netherland's Crown Princess Amalia as he arrives for a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Misha Schoemakers, Pool Photo via AP)
US President Donald Trump, center left, along with the King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, center, poses for a family photo at the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump climbs the stairs to the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump arrives for a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A member of the household staff closes a door as NATO heads of state and government attend a dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives for a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
NATO heads of state and government attend a dinner with Netherland's King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump, center, attends a dinner of NATO heads of state and government at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, walks with New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, arrives at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of a dinner on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
A police sharpshooter monitors the area ahead of a formal dinner at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer take their seat at the beginning of an E3 meeting at a hotel on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana, left, arrive at the Paleis Huis ten Bosch ahead of a dinner on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Remko de Waal, Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. security personnel use a measuring tape to establish the required height for the boarding stairs that will be used for Air Force One ahead of President Donald Trump's arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, visits the Netherlands marines training base, as part of the UK-Netherlands Joint Amphibious Force in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. (Ben Stansall/Pool via AP)
President Donald Trump exits Air Force One as he arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, speaks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speak prior to a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pose for photographers prior to a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Claudia Greco, Pool Photo via AP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses the audience during the NATO defense forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Kin Cheung, Pool)
Security patrol around the perimeter of the venue in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025 ahead of the upcoming NATO summit. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
International flags on the venue ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a media conference ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Inside view of the conference hall for the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on his way to The Hague, to join world leaders gathering in the Netherlands for a two-day NATO summit. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Security patrol around the perimeter of the venue in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025 ahead of the upcoming NATO summit. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, right, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the Catshuis on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on his way to The Hague, to join world leaders gathering in the Netherlands for a two-day NATO summit. The Washington Monument stands right. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a media conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, June 23, 2025 ahead of the NATO summit. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The folksy wisdom and jokes that were a staple of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting for decades when Warren Buffett was leading the show will be missing Saturday, but shareholders still started lining up at midnight outside a Nebraska arena to listen to new CEO Greg Abel.
Attendance is down significantly this year with the arena only a little over half full as the meeting started. That’s much different from the past few years when more than 40,000 attended to listen to the 95-year-old Buffett and — before his death in 2023, Buffett’s longtime partner Charlie Munger was always part of the fun. Buffett gave up the CEO title in January, but he remains chairman and will be sitting with the rest of the Berkshire board on the floor to listen at the meeting.
Saturday’s meeting began with a video tribute to Buffett filled with clips from the previous 60 years of annual meetings. The first clip showed the standing ovation Buffett received last year after he surprised shareholders by announcing that he would step down.
Abel then announced the symbolic move of retiring jerseys with Buffett’s and Munger’s names on them that will hang in the rafters of the arena.
Buffett took the microphone briefly to praise Abel and recognize Apple CEO Tim Cook, who attended the meeting. Buffett said Abel has done a tremendous job so far, and Cook helped Berkshire's initial $35 billion investment in Apple grow to be worth $185 billion today. Cook even got a longer round of applause than Buffett did when he was introduced.
“Greg is doing everything I did and then some,” Buffett said, so his decision to step down has worked out great so far.
Abel has been on stage next to the legendary investor at the annual meetings for several years, but this year is his first time running the show. Investors expect the conversation to focus more on how the dozens of companies Berkshire owns are doing. The conglomerate owns major insurers like Geico, several major utilities like Pacificorp, BNSF railroad and an assortment of manufacturers, retail and service businesses.
Signs of the transition are peppered throughout the 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall where shareholders buy products from Berkshire companies. A caricature of Abel playing his favorite sport of hockey is front and center on commemorative boxes of See’s Candy with Buffett and Mrs. See in the background in hockey gear. At the Pilot Travel Center booth pictures of Abel and Buffett are plastered on the windshield of a semitrailer truck, but Abel is in the driver’s seat. And this year Jazwares created a Squishmallow version of Abel to go with the latest versions of Buffett and his longtime partner Charlie Munger as stuffed dolls that shareholders lined up to buy.
“Sadly we miss Warren and Charlie and that show which was fun, but it’s a business meeting for a lot of us and hearing what the businesses are doing is what it’s all about,” investor Chris Bloomstran, who is president of Semper Augustus Investments Group said.
Abel opened the meeting that way with a detailed discussion of how Berkshire's biggest businesses are performing. He gave a granular explanation about the performance of Berkshire’s insurers, its railroad and its utilities. And he emphasized the way Berkshire is using artificial intelligence “to solve problems at our companies.”
But also many people travel to Omaha primarily to meet up with like-minded value investors, who practice the approach that Buffett employed, and attend some of the investment conferences and meetings that are scheduled around Berkshire’s shareholder meeting.
“That’s why I’m really here, really here is to network with other people,” said Bob Robotti, who runs his own investment company. He doesn’t expect surprises from Abel and the other Berkshire executives at the meeting. “They shouldn’t say anything that would be shocking and surprising because they’re consistent with what they do.”
Many investors are watching closely for any changes Abel might make, but there’s not a lot of reason expect anything big. After all, Abel has been with Berkshire for more than 25 years, and he had already been managing all of the conglomerate’s noninsurance businesses for nearly eight years by the time he was promoted.
Abel did make a few administrative changes to establish a team to help support him, but he has promised to maintain Berkshire’s culture that allows the CEOs of all of its businesses to largely run their day-to-day operations while consulting with headquarters on any major investments and sending any extra cash to Omaha.
The CEOs of Dairy Queen, See’s Candy, Jazwares and Brooks Running all said very little has changed since Abel was promoted other than they now report to NetJets CEO Adam Johnson who is overseeing 32 retail and service businesses.
“I think this is a very deeply rooted culture that Warren has created, and I believe the transition to Greg is going to be rooted in those values that Warren has for 60 years instituted and will continue,” Brooks CEO Dan Sheridan said.
For years Buffett always said he was having too much fun running Berkshire to ever retire, but once the shock of his announcement in the final minutes of last years meeting wore off the company’s executives quickly agreed this plan for the transition was better so Buffett can still be around to advise Abel.
“Berkshire is as strong today as it’s ever been and Warren is still part of it,” DQ CEO Troy Bader said as his staff sold Dilly Bars to shareholders. “Warren is still present. So that’s the greatest combination right now, to be able to have that transition in leadership where Greg and Warren can still work together.”
Abel is known to be a more demanding and hands-on boss than Buffett ever was, but he does that by challenging Berkshire’s CEOs to strengthen their competitive advantages while taking care of their customers. Abel asks tough questions and offers advice that his CEOs appreciate, but he doesn’t tell them exactly what to do.
And with Buffett remaining Berkshire’s chairman and its largest shareholder it’s unlikely that Abel will make any drastic changes. So shareholders shouldn’t expect Berkshire to start paying a dividend or that Abel will suddenly split the company up. Instead, Abel will continue building on the foundation Buffett established over 60 years.
Robotti said the performance of Berkshire’s businesses should be much more important to shareholders than the entertainment value of the annual meetings.
“My hope and expectation are they’re picking people who have competency in running a business and not necessarily public speakers and presenters,” Robotti said.
Berkshire said Saturday morning that its profits more than doubled in the first-quarter to $10.1 billion, or $7,027 per Class A share, as the value of its investments grew and most of its businesses improved.
The paper value of Berkshire’s investments always has a major impact on its bottom line, and it did record a $5.8 billion gain on the stocks it did sell. The value of the portfolio did slip to just over $288 billion.
Berkshire’s massive cash pile continues to grow, and it hit $397.4 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Most of Berkshire’s varied businesses reported better operating earnings this year. The insurance unit that includes Geico and a number of other companies reported an underwriting profit of $1.7 billion, up from $1.34 billion last year. Profits also grew somewhat at BNSF railroad and Berkshire’s utility and manufacturing companies.
But Abel acknowledged there is more improvement needed — especially at BNSF.
“We see a lot of opportunity here to continue to get better,” Abel said about the railroad.
Portraits of Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, left, and CEO Greg Abel sit in a semi truck at the Pilot display in the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholders arrive inside the CHI Health Center Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholders enter the CHI Health Center Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholder Anna Larsen, 16, left, of Underwood, Iowa, poses for photo with her friend Ainsley Roberts, 17, in the Hello Kitty portion of the Squishmallows display in the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholder Alex Vacca of Milwaukee poses for a photo in a foam hat in the Justin display od the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Author and former Omaha World-Herald reporter Steve Jordan signs copies of his book at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders event on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
A Berkshire Hathaway shareholder takes a selfie in front of a Pilot truck stops semi truck with pictures of Berkshire's top two executives behind the wheel: new CEO Greg Abel and Chairman Warren Buffett on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders stand in line to purchase Squishmallows versions of the company's top executives: CEO Greg Abel, Chairman Warren Buffett and former Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders line up to buy products at the Pampered Chef booth behind a cutout of longtime CEO Warren Buffett who stepped down in January on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Shareholders line up to take pictures with depictions of Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel and Chairman Warren Buffett on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)