5 Highlights of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 Annual Report
These are 5 highlights of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 Annual Report:
(1) In Q4, Berkshire’s operating income rose 45% and it bought back $6.9 billion of its shares at an average price per A share of about $435,000. Its closing price on Feb. 25 was $479,345, and it bought back only $1.2 billion of its shares in 2022 through February 23. Berkshire repurchased $51.7 billion, or 9% of its shares during 2020-2021.
(2) Berkshire had $144 billion of cash and cash equivalents at year end 2021. Since it plans to always have at least $30 billion of cash and equivalents, at least $100 billion is available to invest.
(3) Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are managing $34 billion, or about 10% of Berkshire’s $350+ billion equity portfolio. However, subtracting Apple, Bank of America, American Express, and Coca-Cola, they are managing about 35% of the remaining $100 billion portfolio.
(4) Berkshire’s book value on December 31, 2021 was $348,632. At its closing price on Feb. 25 of $479,345, its price to book ratio equals 1.37, approximating its historical average.
(5) Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday, April 30th will be webcast by CNBC (cnbc.com/BRKlive22) beginning at 8:45 a.m. central time (9:45 a.m. eastern time)
