Transcription of BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
1 BERKSHIRE s Corporate Performance vs. the S&P 500 Annual Percentage ChangeYearin Per-ShareBook Value ofBerkshire(1)in S&P 500with DividendsIncluded(2)RelativeResults(1)-( 2) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )( ) ( ) ( ) (.4) ( )( ) Annual Gain Gain ,319%4,276%Notes:Data are for calendar years with these exceptions: 1965 and 1966, year ended 9/30; 1967, 15 months ended12 in 1979, accounting rules required insurance companies to value the equity securities they hold at marketrather than at the lower of cost or market, which was previously the requirement. In this table, BERKSHIRE s resultsthrough 1978 have been restated to conform to the changed rules.
2 In all other respects, the results are calculated usingthe numbers originally S&P 500 numbers arepre-taxwhereas the BERKSHIRE numbers areafter-tax. If a corporation such as Berkshirewere simply to have owned the S&P 500 and accrued the appropriate taxes, its results would have lagged the S&P 500in years when that index showed a positive return, but would have exceeded the S&P 500 in years when the indexshowed a negative return. Over the years, the tax costs would have caused the aggregate lag to be HATHAWAY the Shareholders of BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY Inc.:Ourdecreasein net worth during 2008 was $ billion, which reduced the per-share book value ofboth our Class A and Class B stock by Over the last 44 years (that is, since present management took over)book value has grown from $19 to $70,530, a rate of compounded annually.
3 *The table on the preceding page, recording both the 44- year performance of BERKSHIRE s book valueand the S&P 500 index, shows that 2008 was the worst year for each. The period was devastating as well forcorporate and municipal bonds, real estate and commodities. By yearend, investors of all stripes were bloodiedand confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton the year progressed, a series of life-threatening problems within many of the world s great financialinstitutions was unveiled. This led to a dysfunctional credit market that in important respects soon turnednon-functional.
4 The watchword throughout the country became the creed I saw on restaurant walls when I wasyoung: In God we trust; all others pay cash. By the fourth quarter, the credit crisis, coupled with tumbling home and stock prices, had produced aparalyzing fear that engulfed the country. A freefall in business activity ensued, accelerating at a pace that I havenever before witnessed. The and much of the world became trapped in a vicious negative-feedbackcycle. Fear led to business contraction, and that in turn led to even greater debilitating spiral has spurred our government to take massive action.
5 In poker terms, the Treasuryand the Fed have gone all in. Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recentlybeen dispensed by the barrel. These once-unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcomeaftereffects. Their precise nature is anyone s guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught of , major industries have become dependent on Federal assistance, and they will be followed by citiesand states bearing mind-boggling requests. Weaning these entities from the public teat will be a politicalchallenge. They won t leave the downsides may be, strong and immediate action by government was essential last year ifthe financial system was to avoid a total breakdown.
6 Had one occurred, the consequences for every area of oureconomy would have been cataclysmic. Like it or not, the inhabitants of Wall Street, Main Street and the variousSide Streets of America were all in the same this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past. Inthe 20thCentury alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen orso panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 211 2% prime rate in 1980; and the Great Depression ofthe 1930s, when unemployment ranged between 15% and 25% for many years.
7 America has had no shortage fail, however, we ve overcome them. In the face of those obstacles and many others thereal standard of living for Americans improved nearlyseven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow JonesIndustrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during whichhumans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economicsystem has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and itwill continue to do so. America s best days lie ahead.
8 *All per-share figures used in this report apply to BERKSHIRE s A shares. Figures for the B shares are1/30thof those shown for a look again at the 44- year table on page 2. In 75% of those years, the S&P stocks recorded again. I would guess that a roughly similar percentage of years will be positive in the next 44. But neither CharlieMunger, my partner in running BERKSHIRE , nor I can predict the winning and losing years in advance. (In ourusual opinionated view, we don t think anyone else can either.) We re certain, for example, that the economy willbe in shambles throughout 2009 and, for that matter, probably well beyond but that conclusion does not tellus whether the stock market will rise or good years and bad, Charlie and I simply focus on four goals:(1)maintaining BERKSHIRE s Gibraltar-like financial position, which features huge amounts ofexcess liquidity, near-term obligations that are modest, and dozens of sources of earningsand cash;(2)widening the moats around our operating businesses that give them durable competitiveadvantages.
9 (3)acquiring and developing new and varied streams of earnings;(4)expanding and nurturing the cadre of outstanding operating managers who, over the years,have delivered BERKSHIRE exceptional in 2008 Most of the BERKSHIRE businesses whose results are significantly affected by the economy earned belowtheir potential last year , and that will be true in 2009 as well. Our retailers were hit particularly hard, as were ouroperations tied to residential construction. In aggregate, however, our manufacturing, service and retailbusinesses earned substantial sums and most of them particularly the larger ones continue to strengthen theircompetitive positions.
10 Moreover, we are fortunate that BERKSHIRE s two most important businesses ourinsurance and utility groups produce earnings that are not correlated to those of the general economy. Bothbusinesses delivered outstanding results in 2008 and have excellent predicted in last year s report, the exceptional underwriting profits that our insurance businessesrealized in 2007 were not repeated in 2008. Nevertheless, the insurance group delivered an underwriting gain forthe sixth consecutive year . This means that our $ billion of insurance float money that doesn t belong tous but that we hold and invest for our own benefit cost us less than zero.
