Jim Cramer says Buffett’s sale of airline stocks makes him ‘very concerned about the near term’

• “I think they very much are a microcosm of a big chunk of not the U.S. economy, if not the world economy in some cases, as he said,” Cramer said.
• The billionaire investor said Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway had sold all of its airline stocks because of the pandemic.
• Major airline names were down sharply in early trading after Buffett’s announcement.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday that legendary investor Warren Buffett gave “no hope near term” in his annual shareholders meeting on Saturday with his sale of airline stocks.

“Buffett’s overview on airlines really does make me very concerned about the near term,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.”

The billionaire investor said Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway had sold all of its airline stocks because of the coronavirus pandemic. The conglomerate previously had investments in United, American, Southwest and Delta Airlines worth roughly $4 billion.

Airlines have been one of the major industries most impacted by the pandemic, which has slowed global travel to a trickle. Many airlines negotiated loans from the federal government and have been cutting flights across the country in an attempt to stem losses.

“The world has changed for the airlines. And I don’t know how it’s changed and I hope it corrects itself in a reasonably prompt way,” Buffett said during the meeting.

Cramer said that he viewed Buffett bailing on airlines as a sign that there were serious issues in the broader economy.

“I think they very much are a microcosm of a big chunk of not the U.S. economy, if not the world economy in some cases, as he said,” Cramer said.

Major airline stocks were down sharply in early trading after Buffett’s announcement, with United, Delta and American all down more than 10%. American shares finished the session down 7.7%, while Delta was down 6.4% and United lost 5.1%.

To be sure, Buffett was still bullish on the American economy long term.