In his latest letter to investors, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett highlighted the company's short-term and long-term results. He also focused on what different accounting rules mean for the firm's different performance measures and why be believes "The American Tailwind," which he credits for making Berkshire's success possible, is here to stay.
"It is beyond arrogance for American businesses or individuals to boast that they have 'done it alone,'" Buffett wrote. "The tidy rows of simple white crosses at Normandy should shame those who make such claims."
Berkshire's earnings
Since 1964, Berkshire's compound annual growth rate has averaged 20.5% in market value and 18.7% on book value vs. 9.7% for the S&P 500 (including dividends). In 2018, Berkshire shares improved 2.8% in market value and 0.4% in book value, compared with a drop of 4.4% in the S&P 500.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Janet Levaux
Janet Levaux, MA/MBA, is Editor in Chief of ThinkAdvisor & Investment Advisor. She's covered the financial markets since 1991 and advisors since 2005. Janet studied at Yale, Johns Hopkins SAIS and St. Mary's College of California. She's also lived and worked in Asia, Europe and Latin America, raised two sons, and won a Neal Award for top news coverage in 2020.
