5 Highlights of Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders and Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Report
Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders and Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Report were released this morning at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Five highlights were:
(1) Berkshire Hathaway’s 2018 operating earnings rose by 71% vs. 2017.
(2) Berkshire Hathaway’s shares outperformed the S&P 500 (with dividends included) by 7.2% in 2018 and by 21% over the past 5 years.
(3) Berkshire repurchased only $400 million of its shares during the fourth quarter of 2018 vs. $928 million during the third quarter.
(4) Berkshire’s cash position increased to a record $112 billion at year end 2018.
(5) Buffett states that in 2019 Berkshire is far more likely to invest in the public market (minority stakes in companies) than in the over-priced private market (acquire entire companies).
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[…] On another note, Berkshire’s cash position was $112 billion at the end of 2018 in which Buffett commented that there will be ups and downs throughout everything, but the company will always have cash equivalents of approximately $20 billion that will not be used but on hold in case of emergencies. In term of management, Warren Buffett acknowledged that he will at times make instructional mistakes and miss out on valuable opportunities, of which he even knows is inevitable, but they will never be at a loss for cash. […]