Annual Letter to Berkshire Shareholders (2019) [pdf]

Post by ksec » Sun, Feb 23, 2020, 12:43 AM UTC

sethev wrote: post #13

Proziam wrote: post #4

After having seen so much nonsense accounting in the books of so many startups (especially recently, it feels like a growing trend) it's refreshing to see GAAP. The difference in standards between the startup universe and the 'real world' is actually scary. There have been far too many instances of people getting taken for a ride based on EBITDA when the company's financials were far from healthy. Am I alone in think…

The thing that stands out in Buffett's letters (including this one), is his commitment to clearly communicating the true health of the company in the most accurate way possible. That's missing in a lot of corporate communication, which try to spin results or invent creative metrics that make the company look better. He always shares GAAP as well but will usually point out where he thinks it not useful.

Post by kweinber » Sun, Feb 23, 2020, 4:27 AM UTC

nodesocket wrote: post #42

“Shareholders having at least $20 million in value of A or B shares and an inclination to sell shares to Berkshire may wish to have their broker contact Berkshire’s Mark Millard at 402-346-1400. We request that you phone Mark between 8:00-8:30 a.m. or 3:00-3:30 p.m. Central Time, calling only if you are ready to sell.” $BRK.B holder myself — What is this? Is this essentially if you have a big enough position you can…

Post by anon4242 » Sun, Feb 23, 2020, 9:17 PM UTC

tialaramex wrote: post #68

nabla9 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver had episode about those practices including Clayton Homes. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/apr/08/john-oliver-... The point of the story is that 1) Mobile homes are horrible investments. They go rapidly down in value. “cars go down in value. Mobile homes go down in value. It’s a car you sleep in.” 2) Private equity groups such as the Carlyle Group, TPG and Blackstone now ow…

It's not just mobile homes. All homes are horrible investments. It's just that mobile homes don't come with Real Property (in other words land), and Real Property goes up in value. You will see people who do some renovations and kid themselves that this is an "investment" in their home - in practice the increase in market value of the home will typically be negligible, sometimes negative and only in some very unusual…

Post by Lukesys » Mon, Feb 24, 2020, 10:25 AM UTC

Post by simonebrunozzi » Tue, Feb 25, 2020, 7:00 AM UTC

CapriciousCptl wrote: post #29

yuy910616 wrote: post #15

Any book recommendations for someone who would like to learn more about GAAP, accounting, operational earnings, and/or how to evaluate stocks?

* Best introduction: Financial Intelligence, Revised Edition: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean (Berman, Karen, Knight, Joe, Case, John, imusti) * Then read this, all of it, except perhaps most of the exhibits: Most recent Costco annual report (10-k). * Berkshire Hathaway annual letters, Transcripts from Berkshire annual meetings * Great follow-up: Financial Shenanigans, Fourth Edition: How to…