Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway
First, Buffett discussed Berkshire's business results. Buffett recommended investors focus on the earnings performance of Berkshire's broad portfolio, despite bad paper losses for Kraft Heinz
Buffett wrote on other issues too. He reassured investors that US government deficits are nothing to worry about, noting that the national debt has increased by a factor of 400 in the last 77 years, and growth has hummed along. He scoffed at the idea of holding gold as a hedge instead of a broad stock index fund, writing on the performance gap: "The magical metal was no match for the American mettle." On corporate debt, Buffett explained that his personal philosophy is to avoid risky leverage, comparing significant debt to Russian roulette. He also discussed corporate taxes, saying that the US government essentially owns a special class of Berkshire stock. Finally, he praised longtime executives Ajit Jain and Gregory Abel, hinting at Berkshire's secret succession plans after his death.
The annual letter by Berkshire's chief executive suggests Berkshire posted a solid year despite stock market volatility. Although recent developments with Coca-Cola
The author does not own any positions in any of the securities above.
- 1. http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2018ltr.pdf
- 2. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-results-summary/berkshire-hathaway-inc-reports-results-for-the-quarter-ended-in-december-earnings-summary-idUSKCN1QE0WR
- 3. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/23/berkshire-hathaway-posts-25-b-q-4-loss-but-operating-earnings-soar/2956610002/
- 4. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/business/dealbook/buffett-annual-letter-berkshire.html