5 Highlights of Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders and Berkshire’s 2023 Annual Report
5 Highlights of Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders and Berkshire’s 2023 Annual Report
1 Berkshire’s operating earnings rose 28% in Q4 and cash rose to $167.6 billion from $157.2 billion at end of Q3. Profit increases in insurance underwriting and investment income handily offset declines at BNSF (railroad) and BHE (energy).
2 Berkshire bought back $2.2 b of stock in Q4 up from $1.1 b in Q3. Total repurchases in 2023 were $9.2 b vs. $7.9 b in 2022 and $27.1 b in 2021. It also purchased about $600 m of its shares in Q1 2024 through February 12.
3 Warren Buffett was very pleased with performance in Berkshire’s insurance businesses but disappointed with that of BNSF and BHE.
4 Berkshire’s Class A closing price of $628,930 equals 1.6 times its book value of about $389,000, slightly above its historic average of 1.4 to 1.5.
5 For the second year in a row, Warren Buffett did not reveal Berkshire’s largest equity holdings (although he discussed a few of them, with emphasis on Occidental Petroleum and 5 large Japanese trading companies).
