Warren Buffett 1965 Investment Letter
In April 2002, Berkshire acquired Fruit of the Loom for $835 million in cash. In February 2002, Berkshire acquired Albecca, headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, operating under the Larson-Juhl name. On April 23, 2010, Mitek acquired the assets of Dur-O-Wal from Dayton Superior. In May 2008, Mitek acquired Hohmann & Barnard, a fabricator of anchors and reinforcement systems for masonry. Buffett seeks to alleviate this issue by trading stocks based on intrinsic value rather than market value. You can find most of the letters for free on Berkshire’s website, but this compiles them into a well-designed, easily readable format. Browse the world’s largest eBookstore and start reading today on the web, tablet, phone, or ereader. Berkshire Hathaway’s success is largely due to Buffett’s value investing strategy, and its annual shareholder meetings have become a mecca for value investing proponents. Warren Buffett is one example of an investor whose focus on value investing has led to incredible success. Value investing refers to investing in a security with an intrinsic value that’s greater than its market value. For example, a stock that has dropped very sharply compared to the market-as had the Washington Post when we bought it in 1973-becomes ‘riskier’ at the lower price than it was at a higher price.” Over the years, Buffett goes on to explain that as a net buyer of stocks, the best thing that can happen is for stock prices to drop, as articulated in his 1977 letter when he states that “we ordinarily make no attempt to buy equities for anticipated favorable stock price behavior in the short term. In this chapter, Graham characterizes the market as a manic-depressive who comes each day to offer prices at which he will buy from and sell to the investor, whichever one the investor chooses. Following this discussion, Buffett spends the majority of each letter detailing the operations of Berkshire’s subsidiary companies as well as the results of its major non-controlling investments. As of 2012, Berkshire carried investments per share of $113,786 and non-insurance subsidiary earnings per share of $8,085. Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Inherently, the risk that the investor runs is that by forgoing consumption now, he may not have the ability to consume more later. Buffett simply defines investing as “forgoing consumption now to have the ability to consume more later.” Rather, Buffett feels that real risk is not volatility, but the potential that after-tax receipts from an investment will not result in a gain in purchasing power. As discussed, Buffett does not view volatility as an adequate measure of investment risk. As of June 30, 2025, the company had $344 billion in Treasury bills, which together with its reported cash of $44 billion made up the largest cash position of any U.S.-based public company. The purchase made Berkshire Hathaway the sixth-largest shareholder of Constellation Brands. Berkshire Hathaway bought 5.62 million shares of Constellation Brands in the fourth quarter of 2024, worth $1.24 billion. The company later acquired Professional Datasolutions and Salado Sales. In his 2012 letter, Buffett reaffirms these sentiments by saying, “Indeed, disciplined repurchases are the surest way to use funds intelligently. The insurance company Prudential has an administration centre in the town. Berkshire Hathaway’s success is largely due to Buffett’s value investing strategy, and its annual shareholder meetings have become a mecca for value investing proponents. In the first quarter of 2022, Berkshire acquired a $2.6 billion stake in Paramount Global. In May 2000, Berkshire acquired Ben Bridge Jeweler, a chain of jewelry stores established in 1912 with locations primarily in the western United States. Best Magnetic Reading Glasses for Book Lovers Berkshire Hathaway has never undergone a stock split of its Class A shares because of management’s desire to attract long-term investors as opposed to short-term speculation. In fact, being a major, long-term shareholder is one of the primary qualities that Buffett takes into account when searching for directors. He goes on to state that, as opposed to Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” hyperactive markets act like an “invisible foot,” tripping up and slowing down a progressing economy. As of 2025, Berkshire Hathaway had a market capitalization of over $1.05 trillion, making it one of the largest publicly traded companies worldwide. By 2017, this position had yielded a profit of about $12 billion excluding the annual interest earned from the preferred stock. The historic county included the parts of Oxfordshire south of the River Thames, which formed its northern border, but excluded Caversham and Slough. The county has an area of 1,263 km2 (488 sq mi) and a population of 911,403. Berkshire (/ˈbɑːrkʃɪər, -ʃər/ ⓘ BARK-sheer, -shər; abbreviated Berks.), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. In January 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, alleging the company steered borrowers into unaffordable loans. In 2007, the company was named by Barron’s as the most respected company in the world based on a survey of American money managers. These companies have been swallowed by other groups, but their descendants, Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard respectively, still have local operations. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Berkshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Reading has experienced significant growth due to its reputation as a technology and business hub. The open upland areas vie with Newmarket, Suffolk for horse racing training and breeding centres and have good fields of barley, wheat, and other cereal crops. In the heart of the county Reading’s northern suburb Caversham is also on that bank, but rises steeply into the Chiltern Hills. A flag for the historic county of Berkshire was registered with the Flag Institute in 2017. Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company run by Warren Buffett that owns a diverse range of businesses and minority stakes in public companies like Apple. Buffett is also celebrated for his winning approach to investing,