BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.:
Our per-share book value increased 20.3% during 1992. Over
the last 28 years (that is, since present management took over)
book value has grown from $19 to $7,745, or at a rate of 23.6%
compounded annually.
During the year, Berkshire's net worth increased by $1.52
billion. More than 98% of this gain came from earnings and
appreciation of portfolio securities, with the remainder coming
from the issuance of new stock. These shares were issued as a
result of our calling our convertible debentures for redemption
on January 4, 1993, and of some holders electing to receive
common shares rather than the cash that was their alternative.
Most holders of the debentures who converted into common waited
until January to do it, but a few made the move in December and
therefore received shares in 1992. To sum up what happened to
the $476 million of bonds we had outstanding: $25 million were
converted into shares before yearend; $46 million were converted
in January; and $405 million were redeemed for cash. The
conversions were made at $11,719 per share, so altogether we
issued 6,106 shares.
Berkshire now has 1,152,547 shares outstanding. That
compares, you will be interested to know, to 1,137,778 shares
outstanding on October 1, 1964, the beginning of the fiscal year
during which Buffett Partnership, Ltd. acquired control of the
company.
We have a firm policy about issuing shares of Berkshire,
doing so only when we receive as much value as we give. Equal
value, however, has not been easy to obtain, since we have always
valued our shares highly. So be it: We wish to increase
Berkshire's size only when doing that also increases the wealth
of its owners.
Those two objectives do not necessarily go hand-in-hand as an
amusing but value-destroying experience in our past illustrates.
On that occasion, we had a significant investment in a bank
whose management was hell-bent on expansion. (Aren't they all?)
When our bank wooed a smaller bank, its owner demanded a stock
swap on a basis that valued the acquiree's net worth and earning
power at over twice that of the acquirer's. Our management -
visibly in heat - quickly capitulated. The owner of the acquiree
then insisted on one other condition: "You must promise me," he
said in effect, "that once our merger is done and I have become a
major shareholder, you'll never again make a deal this dumb."
You will remember that our goal is to increase our per-share
intrinsic value - for which our book value is a conservative, but
useful, proxy - at a 15% annual rate. This objective, however,
cannot be attained in a smooth manner. Smoothness is
particularly elusive because of the accounting rules that apply
to the common stocks owned by our insurance companies, whose
portfolios represent a high proportion of Berkshire's net worth.
Since 1979, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) have
required that these securities be valued at their market prices
(less an adjustment for tax on any net unrealized appreciation)
rather than at the lower of cost or market. Run-of-the-mill
fluctuations in equity prices therefore cause our annual results
to gyrate, especially in comparison to those of the typical
industrial company.
To illustrate just how volatile our progress has been - and
to indicate the impact that market movements have on short-term
results - we show on the facing page our annual change in per-
share net worth and compare it with the annual results (including
dividends) of the S&P 500.
You should keep at least three points in mind as you
evaluate this data. The first point concerns the many businesses
we operate whose annual earnings are unaffected by changes in
stock market valuations. The impact of these businesses on both
our absolute and relative performance has changed over the years.
Early on, returns from our textile operation, which then
represented a significant portion of our net worth, were a major
drag on performance, averaging far less than would have been the
case if the money invested in that business had instead been
invested in the S&P 500. In more recent years, as we assembled
our collection of exceptional businesses run by equally
exceptional managers, the returns from our operating businesses
have been high - usually well in excess of the returns achieved
by the S&P.
A second important factor to consider - and one that
significantly hurts our relative performance - is that both the
income and capital gains from our securities are burdened by a
substantial corporate tax liability whereas the S&P returns are
pre-tax. To comprehend the damage, imagine that Berkshire had
owned nothing other than the S&P index during the 28-year period
covered. In that case, the tax bite would have caused our
corporate performance to be appreciably below the record shown in
the table for the S&P. Under present tax laws, a gain for the
S&P of 18% delivers a corporate holder of that index a return
well short of 13%. And this problem would be intensified if
corporate tax rates were to rise. This is a structural
disadvantage we simply have to live with; there is no antidote
for it.
The third point incorporates two predictions: Charlie
Munger, Berkshire's Vice Chairman and my partner, and I are
virtually certain that the return over the next decade from an
investment in the S&P index will be far less than that of the
past decade, and we are dead certain that the drag exerted by
Berkshire's expanding capital base will substantially reduce our
historical advantage relative to the index.
Making the first prediction goes somewhat against our grain:
We've long felt that the only value of stock forecasters is to
make fortune tellers look good. Even now, Charlie and I continue
to believe that short-term market forecasts are poison and should
be kept locked up in a safe place, away from children and also
from grown-ups who behave in the market like children. However,
it is clear that stocks cannot forever overperform their
underlying businesses, as they have so dramatically done for some
time, and that fact makes us quite confident of our forecast that
the rewards from investing in stocks over the next decade will be
significantly smaller than they were in the last. Our second
conclusion - that an increased capital base will act as an anchor
on our relative performance - seems incontestable. The only open
question is whether we can drag the anchor along at some
tolerable, though slowed, pace.
We will continue to experience considerable volatility in
our annual results. That's assured by the general volatility of
the stock market, by the concentration of our equity holdings in
just a few companies, and by certain business decisions we have
made, most especially our move to commit large resources to
super-catastrophe insurance. We not only accept this volatility
but welcome it: A tolerance for short-term swings improves our
long-term prospects. In baseball lingo, our performance
yardstick is slugging percentage, not batting average.
The Salomon Interlude
Last June, I stepped down as Interim Chairman of Salomon Inc
after ten months in the job. You can tell from Berkshire's 1991-
92 results that the company didn't miss me while I was gone. But
the reverse isn't true: I missed Berkshire and am delighted to
be back full-time. There is no job in the world that is more fun
than running Berkshire and I count myself lucky to be where I am.
The Salomon post, though far from fun, was interesting and
worthwhile: In Fortune's annual survey of America's Most Admired
Corporations, conducted last September, Salomon ranked second
among 311 companies in the degree to which it improved its
reputation. Additionally, Salomon Brothers, the securities
subsidiary of Salomon Inc, reported record pre-tax earnings last
year - 34% above the previous high.
Many people helped in the resolution of Salomon's problems
and the righting of the firm, but a few clearly deserve special
mention. It is no exaggeration to say that without the combined
efforts of Salomon executives Deryck Maughan, Bob Denham, Don
Howard, and John Macfarlane, the firm very probably would not
have survived. In their work, these men were tireless,
effective, supportive and selfless, and I will forever be
grateful to them.
Salomon's lead lawyer in its Government matters, Ron Olson
of Munger, Tolles & Olson, was also key to our success in getting
through this trouble. The firm's problems were not only severe,
but complex. At least five authorities - the SEC, the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of New York, and the Antitrust Division
of the Department of Justice - had important concerns about
Salomon. If we were to resolve our problems in a coordinated and
prompt manner, we needed a lawyer with exceptional legal,
business and human skills. Ron had them all.
Acquisitions
Of all our activities at Berkshire, the most exhilarating
for Charlie and me is the acquisition of a business with
excellent economic characteristics and a management that we like,
trust and admire. Such acquisitions are not easy to make but we
look for them constantly. In the search, we adopt the same
attitude one might find appropriate in looking for a spouse: It
pays to be active, interested and open-minded, but it does not
pay to be in a hurry.
In the past, I've observed that many acquisition-hungry
managers were apparently mesmerized by their childhood reading of
the story about the frog-kissing princess. Remembering her
success, they pay dearly for the right to kiss corporate toads,
expecting wondrous transfigurations. Initially, disappointing
results only deepen their desire to round up new toads.
("Fanaticism," said Santyana, "consists of redoubling your effort
when you've forgotten your aim.") Ultimately, even the most
optimistic manager must face reality. Standing knee-deep in
unresponsive toads, he then announces an enormous "restructuring"
charge. In this corporate equivalent of a Head Start program,
the CEO receives the education but the stockholders pay the
tuition.
In my early days as a manager I, too, dated a few toads.
They were cheap dates - I've never been much of a sport - but my
results matched those of acquirers who courted higher-priced
toads. I kissed and they croaked.
After several failures of this type, I finally remembered
some useful advice I once got from a golf pro (who, like all pros
who have had anything to do with my game, wishes to remain
anonymous). Said the pro: "Practice doesn't make perfect;
practice makes permanent." And thereafter I revised my strategy
and tried to buy good businesses at fair prices rather than fair
businesses at good prices.
Last year, in December, we made an acquisition that is a
prototype of what we now look for. The purchase was 82% of
Central States Indemnity, an insurer that makes monthly payments
for credit-card holders who are unable themselves to pay because
they have become disabled or unemployed. Currently the company's
annual premiums are about $90 million and profits about $10
million. Central States is based in Omaha and managed by Bill
Kizer, a friend of mine for over 35 years. The Kizer family -
which includes sons Bill, Dick and John - retains 18% ownership
of the business and will continue to run things just as it has in
the past. We could not be associated with better people.
Coincidentally, this latest acquisition has much in common
with our first, made 26 years ago. At that time, we purchased
another Omaha insurer, National Indemnity Company (along with a
small sister company) from Jack Ringwalt, another long-time
friend. Jack had built the business from scratch and, as was the
case with Bill Kizer, thought of me when he wished to sell.
(Jack's comment at the time: "If I don't sell the company, my
executor will, and I'd rather pick the home for it.") National
Indemnity was an outstanding business when we bought it and
continued to be under Jack's management. Hollywood has had good
luck with sequels; I believe we, too, will.
Berkshire's acquisition criteria are described on page 23.
Beyond purchases made by the parent company, however, our
subsidiaries sometimes make small "add-on" acquisitions that
extend their product lines or distribution capabilities. In this
manner, we enlarge the domain of managers we already know to be
outstanding - and that's a low-risk and high-return proposition.
We made five acquisitions of this type in 1992, and one was not
so small: At yearend, H. H. Brown purchased Lowell Shoe Company,
a business with $90 million in sales that makes Nursemates, a
leading line of shoes for nurses, and other kinds of shoes as
well. Our operating managers will continue to look for add-on
opportunities, and we would expect these to contribute modestly
to Berkshire's value in the future.
Then again, a trend has emerged that may make further
acquisitions difficult. The parent company made one purchase in
1991, buying H. H. Brown, which is run by Frank Rooney, who has
eight children. In 1992 our only deal was with Bill Kizer,
father of nine. It won't be easy to keep this string going in
1993.
Sources of Reported Earnings
The table below shows the major sources of Berkshire's
reported earnings. In this presentation, amortization of
Goodwill and other major purchase-price accounting adjustments
are not charged against the specific businesses to which they
apply, but are instead aggregated and shown separately. This
procedure lets you view the earnings of our businesses as they
would have been reported had we not purchased them. I've
explained in past reports why this form of presentation seems to
us to be more useful to investors and managers than one utilizing
GAAP, which requires purchase-price adjustments to be made on a
business-by-business basis. The total net earnings we show in
the table are, of course, identical to the GAAP total in our
audited financial statements.
(000s omitted)
-----------------------------------------------
Berkshire's Share
of Net Earnings
(after taxes and
Pre-Tax Earnings minority interests)
---------------------- ----------------------
1992 1991 1992 1991
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Operating Earnings:
Insurance Group:
Underwriting ............ $(108,961) $(119,593) $ (71,141) $ (77,229)
Net Investment Income.... 355,067 331,846 305,763 285,173
H. H. Brown (acquired 7/1/91) 27,883 13,616 17,340 8,611
Buffalo News .............. 47,863 37,113 28,163 21,841
Fechheimer ................ 13,698 12,947 7,267 6,843
Kirby ..................... 35,653 35,726 22,795 22,555
Nebraska Furniture Mart ... 17,110 14,384 8,072 6,993
Scott Fetzer
Manufacturing Group .... 31,954 26,123 19,883 15,901
See's Candies ............. 42,357 42,390 25,501 25,575
Wesco - other than Insurance 15,153 12,230 9,195 8,777
World Book ................ 29,044 22,483 19,503 15,487
Amortization of Goodwill .. (4,702) (4,113) (4,687) (4,098)
Other Purchase-Price
Accounting Charges ..... (7,385) (6,021) (8,383) (7,019)
Interest Expense* ......... (98,643) (89,250) (62,899) (57,165)
Shareholder-Designated
Contributions .......... (7,634) (6,772) (4,913) (4,388)
Other ..................... 72,223 77,399 36,267 47,896
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Operating Earnings .......... 460,680 400,508 347,726 315,753
Sales of Securities ......... 89,937 192,478 59,559 124,155
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total Earnings - All Entities $ 550,617 $ 592,986 $ 407,285 $ 439,908
========== ========== ========== ==========
*Excludes interest expense of Scott Fetzer Financial Group and Mutual
Savings & Loan. Includes $22.5 million in 1992 and $5.7 million in
1991 of premiums paid on the early redemption of debt.
A large amount of additional information about these
businesses is given on pages 37-47, where you will also find our
segment earnings reported on a GAAP basis. Our goal is to give you
all of the financial information that Charlie and I consider
significant in making our own evaluation of Berkshire.
"Look-Through" Earnings
We've previously discussed look-through earnings, which
consist of: (1) the operating earnings reported in the previous
section, plus; (2) the retained operating earnings of major
investees that, under GAAP accounting, are not reflected in our
profits, less; (3) an allowance for the tax that would be paid by
Berkshire if these retained earnings of investees had instead been
distributed to us. Though no single figure can be perfect, we
believe that the look-through number more accurately portrays the
earnings of Berkshire than does the GAAP number.
I've told you that over time look-through earnings must
increase at about 15% annually if our intrinsic business value is
to grow at that rate. Our look-through earnings in 1992 were $604
million, and they will need to grow to more than $1.8 billion by
the year 2000 if we are to meet that 15% goal. For us to get
there, our operating subsidiaries and investees must deliver
excellent performances, and we must exercise some skill in capital
allocation as well.
We cannot promise to achieve the $1.8 billion target. Indeed,
we may not even come close to it. But it does guide our decision-
making: When we allocate capital today, we are thinking about what
will maximize look-through earnings in 2000.
We do not, however, see this long-term focus as eliminating
the need for us to achieve decent short-term results as well.
After all, we were thinking long-range thoughts five or ten years
ago, and the moves we made then should now be paying off. If
plantings made confidently are repeatedly followed by disappointing
harvests, something is wrong with the farmer. (Or perhaps with the
farm: Investors should understand that for certain companies, and
even for some industries, there simply is no good long-term
strategy.) Just as you should be suspicious of managers who pump
up short-term earnings by accounting maneuvers, asset sales and the
like, so also should you be suspicious of those managers who fail
to deliver for extended periods and blame it on their long-term
focus. (Even Alice, after listening to the Queen lecture her about
"jam tomorrow," finally insisted, "It must come sometimes to jam
today.")
The following table shows you how we calculate look-through
earnings, though I warn you that the figures are necessarily very
rough. (The dividends paid to us by these investees have been
included in the operating earnings itemized on page 8, mostly
under "Insurance Group: Net Investment Income.")
Berkshire's Share
of Undistributed
Berkshire's Approximate Operating Earnings
Berkshire's Major Investees Ownership at Yearend (in millions)
--------------------------- ----------------------- ------------------
1992 1991 1992 1991
-------- -------- -------- --------
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. ....... 18.2% 18.1% $ 70 $ 61
The Coca-Cola Company ......... 7.1% 7.0% 82 69
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. 8.2%(1) 3.4%(1) 29(2) 15
GEICO Corp. ................... 48.1% 48.2% 34(3) 69(3)
General Dynamics Corp. ........ 14.1% -- 11(2) --
The Gillette Company .......... 10.9% 11.0% 38 23(2)
Guinness PLC .................. 2.0% 1.6% 7 --
The Washington Post Company ... 14.6% 14.6% 11 10
Wells Fargo & Company ......... 11.5% 9.6% 16(2) (17)(2)
-------- -------- -------- --------
Berkshire's share of
undistributed earnings of major investees $298 $230
Hypothetical tax on these
undistributed investee earnings (42) (30)
Reported operating earnings of Berkshire 348 316
-------- --------
Total look-through earnings of Berkshire $604 $516
(1) Net of minority interest at Wesco
(2) Calculated on average ownership for the year
(3) Excludes realized capital gains, which have been both
recurring and significant
Insurance Operations
Shown below is an updated version of our usual table
presenting key figures for the property-casualty insurance
industry:
Yearly Change Combined Ratio
in Premiums After Policyholder
Written (%) Dividends
------------- ------------------
1981 ........................... 3.8 106.0
1982 ........................... 3.7 109.6
1983 ........................... 5.0 112.0
1984 ........................... 8.5 118.0
1985 ........................... 22.1 116.3
1986 ........................... 22.2 108.0
1987 ........................... 9.4 104.6
1988 ........................... 4.5 105.4
1989 ........................... 3.2 109.2
1990 ........................... 4.5 109.6
1991 (Revised) ................. 2.4 108.8
1992 (Est.) .................... 2.7 114.8
The combined ratio represents total insurance costs (losses
incurred plus expenses) compared to revenue from premiums: A
ratio below 100 indicates an underwriting profit, and one above
100 indicates a loss. The higher the ratio, the worse the year.
When the investment income that an insurer earns from holding
policyholders' funds ("the float") is taken into account, a
combined ratio in the 106 - 110 range typically produces an
overall break-even result, exclusive of earnings on the funds
provided by shareholders.
About four points in the industry's 1992 combined ratio can
be attributed to Hurricane Andrew, which caused the largest
insured loss in history. Andrew destroyed a few small insurers.
Beyond that, it awakened some larger companies to the fact that
their reinsurance protection against catastrophes was far from
adequate. (It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's
been swimming naked.) One major insurer escaped insolvency
solely because it had a wealthy parent that could promptly supply
a massive transfusion of capital.
Bad as it was, however, Andrew could easily have been far
more damaging if it had hit Florida 20 or 30 miles north of where
it actually did and had hit Louisiana further east than was the
case. All in all, many companies will rethink their reinsurance
programs in light of the Andrew experience.
As you know we are a large writer - perhaps the largest in
the world - of "super-cat" coverages, which are the policies that
other insurance companies buy to protect themselves against major
catastrophic losses. Consequently, we too took our lumps from
Andrew, suffering losses from it of about $125 million, an amount
roughly equal to our 1992 super-cat premium income. Our other
super-cat losses, though, were negligible. This line of business
therefore produced an overall loss of only $2 million for the
year. (In addition, our investee, GEICO, suffered a net loss
from Andrew, after reinsurance recoveries and tax savings, of
about $50 million, of which our share is roughly $25 million.
This loss did not affect our operating earnings, but did reduce
our look-through earnings.)
In last year's report I told you that I hoped that our
super-cat business would over time achieve a 10% profit margin.
But I also warned you that in any given year the line was likely
to be "either enormously profitable or enormously unprofitable."
Instead, both 1991 and 1992 have come in close to a break-even
level. Nonetheless, I see these results as aberrations and stick
with my prediction of huge annual swings in profitability from
this business.
Let me remind you of some characteristics of our super-cat
policies. Generally, they are activated only when two things
happen. First, the direct insurer or reinsurer we protect must
suffer losses of a given amount - that's the policyholder's
"retention" - from a catastrophe; and second, industry-wide
insured losses from the catastrophe must exceed some minimum
level, which usually is $3 billion or more. In most cases, the
policies we issue cover only a specific geographical area, such
as a portion of the U.S., the entire U.S., or everywhere other
than the U.S. Also, many policies are not activated by the first
super-cat that meets the policy terms, but instead cover only a
"second-event" or even a third- or fourth-event. Finally, some
policies are triggered only by a catastrophe of a specific type,
such as an earthquake. Our exposures are large: We have one
policy that calls for us to pay $100 million to the policyholder
if a specified catastrophe occurs. (Now you know why I suffer
eyestrain: from watching The Weather Channel.)
Currently, Berkshire is second in the U.S. property-casualty
industry in net worth (the leader being State Farm, which neither
buys nor sells reinsurance). Therefore, we have the capacity to
assume risk on a scale that interests virtually no other company.
We have the appetite as well: As Berkshire's net worth and
earnings grow, our willingness to write business increases also.
But let me add that means good business. The saying, "a fool
and his money are soon invited everywhere," applies in spades in
reinsurance, and we actually reject more than 98% of the business
we are offered. Our ability to choose between good and bad
proposals reflects a management strength that matches our
financial strength: Ajit Jain, who runs our reinsurance
operation, is simply the best in this business. In combination,
these strengths guarantee that we will stay a major factor in the
super-cat business so long as prices are appropriate.
What constitutes an appropriate price, of course, is
difficult to determine. Catastrophe insurers can't simply
extrapolate past experience. If there is truly "global warming,"
for example, the odds would shift, since tiny changes in
atmospheric conditions can produce momentous changes in weather
patterns. Furthermore, in recent years there has been a
mushrooming of population and insured values in U.S. coastal
areas that are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes, the number
one creator of super-cats. A hurricane that caused x dollars of
damage 20 years ago could easily cost 10x now.
Occasionally, also, the unthinkable happens. Who would have
guessed, for example, that a major earthquake could occur in
Charleston, S.C.? (It struck in 1886, registered an estimated 6.6
on the Richter scale, and caused 60 deaths.) And who could have
imagined that our country's most serious quake would occur at New
Madrid, Missouri, which suffered an estimated 8.7 shocker in
1812. By comparison, the 1989 San Francisco quake was a 7.1 -
and remember that each one-point Richter increase represents a
ten-fold increase in strength. Someday, a U.S. earthquake
occurring far from California will cause enormous losses for
insurers.
When viewing our quarterly figures, you should understand
that our accounting for super-cat premiums differs from our
accounting for other insurance premiums. Rather than recording
our super-cat premiums on a pro-rata basis over the life of a
given policy, we defer recognition of revenue until a loss occurs
or until the policy expires. We take this conservative approach
because the likelihood of super-cats causing us losses is
particularly great toward the end of the year. It is then that
weather tends to kick up: Of the ten largest insured losses in
U.S. history, nine occurred in the last half of the year. In
addition, policies that are not triggered by a first event are
unlikely, by their very terms, to cause us losses until late in
the year.
The bottom-line effect of our accounting procedure for
super-cats is this: Large losses may be reported in any quarter
of the year, but significant profits will only be reported in the
fourth quarter.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As I've told you in each of the last few years, what counts
in our insurance business is "the cost of funds developed from
insurance," or in the vernacular, "the cost of float." Float -
which we generate in exceptional amounts - is the total of loss
reserves, loss adjustment expense reserves and unearned premium
reserves minus agents' balances, prepaid acquisition costs and
deferred charges applicable to assumed reinsurance. The cost of
float is measured by our underwriting loss.
The table below shows our cost of float since we entered the
business in 1967.
(1) (2) Yearend Yield
Underwriting Approximate on Long-Term
Loss Average Float Cost of Funds Govt. Bonds
------------ ------------- --------------- -------------
(In $ Millions) (Ratio of 1 to 2)
1967 ......... profit $17.3 less than zero 5.50%
1968 ......... profit 19.9 less than zero 5.90%
1969 ......... profit 23.4 less than zero 6.79%
1970 ......... $ 0.37 32.4 1.14% 6.25%
1971 ......... profit 52.5 less than zero 5.81%
1972 ......... profit 69.5 less than zero 5.82%
1973 ......... profit 73.3 less than zero 7.27%
1974 ......... 7.36 79.1 9.30% 8.13%
1975 ......... 11.35 87.6 12.96% 8.03%
1976 ......... profit 102.6 less than zero 7.30%
1977 ......... profit 139.0 less than zero 7.97%
1978 ......... profit 190.4 less than zero 8.93%
1979 ......... profit 227.3 less than zero 10.08%
1980 ......... profit 237.0 less than zero 11.94%
1981 ......... profit 228.4 less than zero 13.61%
1982 ......... 21.56 220.6 9.77% 10.64%
1983 ......... 33.87 231.3 14.64% 11.84%
1984 ......... 48.06 253.2 18.98% 11.58%
1985 ......... 44.23 390.2 11.34% 9.34%
1986 ......... 55.84 797.5 7.00% 7.60%
1987 ......... 55.43 1,266.7 4.38% 8.95%
1988 ......... 11.08 1,497.7 0.74% 9.00%
1989 ......... 24.40 1,541.3 1.58% 7.97%
1990 ......... 26.65 1,637.3 1.63% 8.24%
1991 ......... 119.59 1,895.0 6.31% 7.40%
1992 ......... 108.96 2,290.4 4.76% 7.39%
Last year, our insurance operation again generated funds at a
cost below that incurred by the U.S. Government on its newly-issued
long-term bonds. This means that in 21 years out of the 26 years
we have been in the insurance business we have beaten the
Government's rate, and often we have done so by a wide margin.
(If, on average, we didn't beat the Government's rate, there would
be no economic reason for us to be in the business.)
In 1992, as in previous years, National Indemnity's commercial
auto and general liability business, led by Don Wurster, and our
homestate operation, led by Rod Eldred, made excellent
contributions to our low cost of float. Indeed, both of these
operations recorded an underwriting profit last year, thereby
generating float at a less-than-zero cost. The bulk of our float,
meanwhile, comes from large transactions developed by Ajit. His
efforts are likely to produce a further growth in float during
1993.
Charlie and I continue to like the insurance business, which
we expect to be our main source of earnings for decades to come.
The industry is huge; in certain sectors we can compete world-wide;
and Berkshire possesses an important competitive advantage. We
will look for ways to expand our participation in the business,
either indirectly as we have done through GEICO or directly as we
did by acquiring Central States Indemnity.
Common Stock Investments
Below we list our common stock holdings having a value of over
$100 million. A small portion of these investments belongs to
subsidiaries of which Berkshire owns less than 100%.
12/31/92
Shares Company Cost Market
------ ------- ---------- ----------
(000s omitted)
3,000,000 Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. ............. $ 517,500 $1,523,500
93,400,000 The Coca-Cola Company. ............... 1,023,920 3,911,125
16,196,700 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
("Freddie Mac") ................... 414,257 783,515
34,250,000 GEICO Corp. .......................... 45,713 2,226,250
4,350,000 General Dynamics Corp. ............... 312,438 450,769
24,000,000 The Gillette Company ................. 600,000 1,365,000
38,335,000 Guinness PLC ......................... 333,019 299,581
1,727,765 The Washington Post Company .......... 9,731 396,954
6,358,418 Wells Fargo & Company ................ 380,983 485,624
Leaving aside splits, the number of shares we held in these
companies changed during 1992 in only four cases: We added
moderately to our holdings in Guinness and Wells Fargo, we more
than doubled our position in Freddie Mac, and we established a new
holding in General Dynamics. We like to buy.
Selling, however, is a different story. There, our pace of
activity resembles that forced upon a traveler who found himself
stuck in tiny Podunk's only hotel. With no T.V. in his room, he
faced an evening of boredom. But his spirits soared when he spied
a book on the night table entitled "Things to do in Podunk."
Opening it, he found just a single sentence: "You're doing it."
We were lucky in our General Dynamics purchase. I had paid
little attention to the company until last summer, when it
announced it would repurchase about 30% of its shares by way of a
Dutch tender. Seeing an arbitrage opportunity, I began buying the
stock for Berkshire, expecting to tender our holdings for a small
profit. We've made the same sort of commitment perhaps a half-
dozen times in the last few years, reaping decent rates of return
for the short periods our money has been tied up.
But then I began studying the company and the accomplishments
of Bill Anders in the brief time he'd been CEO. And what I saw
made my eyes pop: Bill had a clearly articulated and rational
strategy; he had been focused and imbued with a sense of urgency in
carrying it out; and the results were truly remarkable.
In short order, I dumped my arbitrage thoughts and decided
that Berkshire should become a long-term investor with Bill. We
were helped in gaining a large position by the fact that a tender
greatly swells the volume of trading in a stock. In a one-month
period, we were able to purchase 14% of the General Dynamics shares
that remained outstanding after the tender was completed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Our equity-investing strategy remains little changed from what
it was fifteen years ago, when we said in the 1977 annual report:
"We select our marketable equity securities in much the way we
would evaluate a business for acquisition in its entirety. We want
the business to be one (a) that we can understand; (b) with
favorable long-term prospects; (c) operated by honest and competent
people; and (d) available at a very attractive price." We have
seen cause to make only one change in this creed: Because of both
market conditions and our size, we now substitute "an attractive
price" for "a very attractive price."
But how, you will ask, does one decide what's "attractive"?
In answering this question, most analysts feel they must choose
between two approaches customarily thought to be in opposition:
"value" and "growth." Indeed, many investment professionals see
any mixing of the two terms as a form of intellectual cross-
dressing.
We view that as fuzzy thinking (in which, it must be
confessed, I myself engaged some years ago). In our opinion, the
two approaches are joined at the hip: Growth is always a component
in the calculation of value, constituting a variable whose
importance can range from negligible to enormous and whose impact
can be negative as well as positive.
In addition, we think the very term "value investing" is
redundant. What is "investing" if it is not the act of seeking
value at least sufficient to justify the amount paid? Consciously
paying more for a stock than its calculated value - in the hope
that it can soon be sold for a still-higher price - should be
labeled speculation (which is neither illegal, immoral nor - in our
view - financially fattening).
Whether appropriate or not, the term "value investing" is
widely used. Typically, it connotes the purchase of stocks having
attributes such as a low ratio of price to book value, a low price-
earnings ratio, or a high dividend yield. Unfortunately, such
characteristics, even if they appear in combination, are far from
determinative as to whether an investor is indeed buying something
for what it is worth and is therefore truly operating on the
principle of obtaining value in his investments. Correspondingly,
opposite characteristics - a high ratio of price to book value, a
high price-earnings ratio, and a low dividend yield - are in no way
inconsistent with a "value" purchase.
Similarly, business growth, per se, tells us little about
value. It's true that growth often has a positive impact on value,
sometimes one of spectacular proportions. But such an effect is
far from certain. For example, investors have regularly poured
money into the domestic airline business to finance profitless (or
worse) growth. For these investors, it would have been far better
if Orville had failed to get off the ground at Kitty Hawk: The more
the industry has grown, the worse the disaster for owners.
Growth benefits investors only when the business in point can
invest at incremental returns that are enticing - in other words,
only when each dollar used to finance the growth creates over a
dollar of long-term market value. In the case of a low-return
business requiring incremental funds, growth hurts the investor.
In The Theory of Investment Value, written over 50 years ago,
John Burr Williams set forth the equation for value, which we
condense here: The value of any stock, bond or business today is
determined by the cash inflows and outflows - discounted at an
appropriate interest rate - that can be expected to occur during
the remaining life of the asset. Note that the formula is the same
for stocks as for bonds. Even so, there is an important, and
difficult to deal with, difference between the two: A bond has a
coupon and maturity date that define future cash flows; but in the
case of equities, the investment analyst must himself estimate the
future "coupons." Furthermore, the quality of management affects
the bond coupon only rarely - chiefly when management is so inept
or dishonest that payment of interest is suspended. In contrast,
the ability of management can dramatically affect the equity
"coupons."
The investment shown by the discounted-flows-of-cash
calculation to be the cheapest is the one that the investor should
purchase - irrespective of whether the business grows or doesn't,
displays volatility or smoothness in its earnings, or carries a
high price or low in relation to its current earnings and book
value. Moreover, though the value equation has usually shown
equities to be cheaper than bonds, that result is not inevitable:
When bonds are calculated to be the more attractive investment,
they should be bought.
Leaving the question of price aside, the best business to own
is one that over an extended period can employ large amounts of
incremental capital at very high rates of return. The worst
business to own is one that must, or will, do the opposite - that
is, consistently employ ever-greater amounts of capital at very low
rates of return. Unfortunately, the first type of business is very
hard to find: Most high-return businesses need relatively little
capital. Shareholders of such a business usually will benefit if
it pays out most of its earnings in dividends or makes significant
stock repurchases.
Though the mathematical calculations required to evaluate
equities are not difficult, an analyst - even one who is
experienced and intelligent - can easily go wrong in estimating
future "coupons." At Berkshire, we attempt to deal with this
problem in two ways. First, we try to stick to businesses we
believe we understand. That means they must be relatively simple
and stable in character. If a business is complex or subject to
constant change, we're not smart enough to predict future cash
flows. Incidentally, that shortcoming doesn't bother us. What
counts for most people in investing is not how much they know, but
rather how realistically they define what they don't know. An
investor needs to do very few things right as long as he or she
avoids big mistakes.
Second, and equally important, we insist on a margin of safety
in our purchase price. If we calculate the value of a common stock
to be only slightly higher than its price, we're not interested in
buying. We believe this margin-of-safety principle, so strongly
emphasized by Ben Graham, to be the cornerstone of investment
success.
Fixed-Income Securities
Below we list our largest holdings of fixed-income securities:
(000s omitted)
------------------------------------
Cost of Preferreds and
Issuer Amortized Value of Bonds Market
------ ------------------------ ----------
ACF Industries Debentures ...... $133,065(1) $163,327
American Express "Percs" ....... 300,000 309,000(1)(2)
Champion International Conv. Pfd. 300,000(1) 309,000(2)
First Empire State Conv. Pfd. .. 40,000 68,000(1)(2)
Salomon Conv. Pfd. ............. 700,000(1) 756,000(2)
USAir Conv. Pfd. ............... 358,000(1) 268,500(2)
Washington Public Power Systems Bonds 58,768(1) 81,002
(1) Carrying value in our financial statements
(2) Fair value as determined by Charlie and me
During 1992 we added to our holdings of ACF debentures, had
some of our WPPSS bonds called, and sold our RJR Nabisco position.
Over the years, we've done well with fixed-income investments,
having realized from them both large capital gains (including $80
million in 1992) and exceptional current income. Chrysler
Financial, Texaco, Time-Warner, WPPSS and RJR Nabisco were
particularly good investments for us. Meanwhile, our fixed-income
losses have been negligible: We've had thrills but so far no
spills.
Despite the success we experienced with our Gillette
preferred, which converted to common stock in 1991, and despite our
reasonable results with other negotiated purchases of preferreds,
our overall performance with such purchases has been inferior to
that we have achieved with purchases made in the secondary market.
This is actually the result we expected. It corresponds with our
belief that an intelligent investor in common stocks will do better
in the secondary market than he will do buying new issues.
The reason has to do with the way prices are set in each
instance. The secondary market, which is periodically ruled by
mass folly, is constantly setting a "clearing" price. No matter
how foolish that price may be, it's what counts for the holder of a
stock or bond who needs or wishes to sell, of whom there are always
going to be a few at any moment. In many instances, shares worth x
in business value have sold in the market for 1/2x or less.
The new-issue market, on the other hand, is ruled by
controlling stockholders and corporations, who can usually select
the timing of offerings or, if the market looks unfavorable, can
avoid an offering altogether. Understandably, these sellers are
not going to offer any bargains, either by way of a public offering
or in a negotiated transaction: It's rare you'll find x for
1/2x here. Indeed, in the case of common-stock offerings, selling
shareholders are often motivated to unload only when they feel the
market is overpaying. (These sellers, of course, would state that
proposition somewhat differently, averring instead that they simply
resist selling when the market is underpaying for their goods.)
To date, our negotiated purchases, as a group, have fulfilled
but not exceeded the expectation we set forth in our 1989 Annual
Report: "Our preferred stock investments should produce returns
modestly above those achieved by most fixed-income portfolios." In
truth, we would have done better if we could have put the money
that went into our negotiated transactions into open-market
purchases of the type we like. But both our size and the general
strength of the markets made that difficult to do.
There was one other memorable line in the 1989 Annual Report:
"We have no ability to forecast the economics of the investment
banking business, the airline industry, or the paper industry." At
the time some of you may have doubted this confession of ignorance.
Now, however, even my mother acknowledges its truth.
In the case of our commitment to USAir, industry economics had
soured before the ink dried on our check. As I've previously
mentioned, it was I who happily jumped into the pool; no one pushed
me. Yes, I knew the industry would be ruggedly competitive, but I
did not expect its leaders to engage in prolonged kamikaze
behavior. In the last two years, airline companies have acted as
if they are members of a competitive tontine, which they wish to
bring to its conclusion as rapidly as possible.
Amidst this turmoil, Seth Schofield, CEO of USAir, has done a
truly extraordinary job in repositioning the airline. He was
particularly courageous in accepting a strike last fall that, had
it been lengthy, might well have bankrupted the company.
Capitulating to the striking union, however, would have been
equally disastrous: The company was burdened with wage costs and
work rules that were considerably more onerous than those
encumbering its major competitors, and it was clear that over time
any high-cost producer faced extinction. Happily for everyone, the
strike was settled in a few days.
A competitively-beset business such as USAir requires far more
managerial skill than does a business with fine economics.
Unfortunately, though, the near-term reward for skill in the
airline business is simply survival, not prosperity.
In early 1993, USAir took a major step toward assuring
survival - and eventual prosperity - by accepting British Airways'
offer to make a substantial, but minority, investment in the
company. In connection with this transaction, Charlie and I were
asked to join the USAir board. We agreed, though this makes five
outside board memberships for me, which is more than I believe
advisable for an active CEO. Even so, if an investee's management
and directors believe it particularly important that Charlie and I
join its board, we are glad to do so. We expect the managers of
our investees to work hard to increase the value of the businesses
they run, and there are times when large owners should do their bit
as well.
Two New Accounting Rules and a Plea for One More
A new accounting rule having to do with deferred taxes becomes
effective in 1993. It undoes a dichotomy in our books that I have
described in previous annual reports and that relates to the
accrued taxes carried against the unrealized appreciation in our
investment portfolio. At yearend 1992, that appreciation amounted
to $7.6 billion. Against $6.4 billion of that, we carried taxes at
the current 34% rate. Against the remainder of $1.2 billion, we
carried an accrual of 28%, the tax rate in effect when that portion
of the appreciation occurred. The new accounting rule says we must
henceforth accrue all deferred tax at the current rate, which to us
seems sensible.
The new marching orders mean that in the first quarter of 1993
we will apply a 34% rate to all of our unrealized appreciation,
thereby increasing the tax liability and reducing net worth by $70
million. The new rule also will cause us to make other minor
changes in our calculation of deferred taxes.
Future changes in tax rates will be reflected immediately in
the liability for deferred taxes and, correspondingly, in net
worth. The impact could well be substantial. Nevertheless, what
is important in the end is the tax rate at the time we sell
securities, when unrealized appreciation becomes realized.
Another major accounting change, whose implementation is
required by January 1, 1993, mandates that businesses recognize
their present-value liability for post-retirement health benefits.
Though GAAP has previously required recognition of pensions to be
paid in the future, it has illogically ignored the costs that
companies will then have to bear for health benefits. The new rule
will force many companies to record a huge balance-sheet liability
(and a consequent reduction in net worth) and also henceforth to
recognize substantially higher costs when they are calculating
annual profits.
In making acquisitions, Charlie and I have tended to avoid
companies with significant post-retirement liabilities. As a
result, Berkshire's present liability and future costs for post-
retirement health benefits - though we now have 22,000 employees -
are inconsequential. I need to admit, though, that we had a near
miss: In 1982 I made a huge mistake in committing to buy a company
burdened by extraordinary post-retirement health obligations.
Luckily, though, the transaction fell through for reasons beyond
our control. Reporting on this episode in the 1982 annual report,
I said: "If we were to introduce graphics to this report,
illustrating favorable business developments of the past year, two
blank pages depicting this blown deal would be the appropriate
centerfold." Even so, I wasn't expecting things to get as bad as
they did. Another buyer appeared, the business soon went bankrupt
and was shut down, and thousands of workers found those bountiful
health-care promises to be largely worthless.
In recent decades, no CEO would have dreamed of going to his
board with the proposition that his company become an insurer of
uncapped post-retirement health benefits that other corporations
chose to install. A CEO didn't need to be a medical expert to know
that lengthening life expectancies and soaring health costs would
guarantee an insurer a financial battering from such a business.
Nevertheless, many a manager blithely committed his own company to
a self-insurance plan embodying precisely the same promises - and
thereby doomed his shareholders to suffer the inevitable
consequences. In health-care, open-ended promises have created
open-ended liabilities that in a few cases loom so large as to
threaten the global competitiveness of major American industries.
I believe part of the reason for this reckless behavior was
that accounting rules did not, for so long, require the booking of
post-retirement health costs as they were incurred. Instead, the
rules allowed cash-basis accounting, which vastly understated the
liabilities that were building up. In effect, the attitude of both
managements and their accountants toward these liabilities was
"out-of-sight, out-of-mind." Ironically, some of these same
managers would be quick to criticize Congress for employing "cash-
basis" thinking in respect to Social Security promises or other
programs creating future liabilities of size.
Managers thinking about accounting issues should never forget
one of Abraham Lincoln's favorite riddles: "How many legs does a
dog have if you call his tail a leg?" The answer: "Four, because
calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg." It behooves managers
to remember that Abe's right even if an auditor is willing to
certify that the tail is a leg.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The most egregious case of let's-not-face-up-to-reality
behavior by executives and accountants has occurred in the world of
stock options. In Berkshire's 1985 annual report, I laid out my
opinions about the use and misuse of options. But even when
options are structured properly, they are accounted for in ways
that make no sense. The lack of logic is not accidental: For
decades, much of the business world has waged war against
accounting rulemakers, trying to keep the costs of stock options
from being reflected in the profits of the corporations that issue
them.
Typically, executives have argued that options are hard to
value and that therefore their costs should be ignored. At other
times managers have said that assigning a cost to options would
injure small start-up businesses. Sometimes they have even
solemnly declared that "out-of-the-money" options (those with an
exercise price equal to or above the current market price) have no
value when they are issued.
Oddly, the Council of Institutional Investors has chimed in
with a variation on that theme, opining that options should not be
viewed as a cost because they "aren't dollars out of a company's
coffers." I see this line of reasoning as offering exciting
possibilities to American corporations for instantly improving
their reported profits. For example, they could eliminate the cost
of insurance by paying for it with options. So if you're a CEO and
subscribe to this "no cash-no cost" theory of accounting, I'll make
you an offer you can't refuse: Give us a call at Berkshire and we
will happily sell you insurance in exchange for a bundle of long-
term options on your company's stock.
Shareholders should understand that companies incur costs when
they deliver something of value to another party and not just when
cash changes hands. Moreover, it is both silly and cynical to say
that an important item of cost should not be recognized simply
because it can't be quantified with pinpoint precision. Right now,
accounting abounds with imprecision. After all, no manager or
auditor knows how long a 747 is going to last, which means he also
does not know what the yearly depreciation charge for the plane
should be. No one knows with any certainty what a bank's annual
loan loss charge ought to be. And the estimates of losses that
property-casualty companies make are notoriously inaccurate.
Does this mean that these important items of cost should be
ignored simply because they can't be quantified with absolute
accuracy? Of course not. Rather, these costs should be estimated
by honest and experienced people and then recorded. When you get
right down to it, what other item of major but hard-to-precisely-
calculate cost - other, that is, than stock options - does the
accounting profession say should be ignored in the calculation of
earnings?
Moreover, options are just not that difficult to value.
Admittedly, the difficulty is increased by the fact that the
options given to executives are restricted in various ways. These
restrictions affect value. They do not, however, eliminate it. In
fact, since I'm in the mood for offers, I'll make one to any
executive who is granted a restricted option, even though it may be
out of the money: On the day of issue, Berkshire will pay him or
her a substantial sum for the right to any future gain he or she
realizes on the option. So if you find a CEO who says his newly-
issued options have little or no value, tell him to try us out. In
truth, we have far more confidence in our ability to determine an
appropriate price to pay for an option than we have in our ability
to determine the proper depreciation rate for our corporate jet.
It seems to me that the realities of stock options can be
summarized quite simply: If options aren't a form of compensation,
what are they? If compensation isn't an expense, what is it? And,
if expenses shouldn't go into the calculation of earnings, where in
the world should they go?
The accounting profession and the SEC should be shamed by the
fact that they have long let themselves be muscled by business
executives on the option-accounting issue. Additionally, the
lobbying that executives engage in may have an unfortunate by-
product: In my opinion, the business elite risks losing its
credibility on issues of significance to society - about which it
may have much of value to say - when it advocates the incredible on
issues of significance to itself.
Miscellaneous
We have two pieces of regrettable news this year. First,
Gladys Kaiser, my friend and assistant for twenty-five years, will
give up the latter post after the 1993 annual meeting, though she
will certainly remain my friend forever. Gladys and I have been a
team, and though I knew her retirement was coming, it is still a
jolt.
Secondly, in September, Verne McKenzie relinquished his role
as Chief Financial Officer after a 30-year association with me that
began when he was the outside auditor of Buffett Partnership, Ltd.
Verne is staying on as a consultant, and though that job
description is often a euphemism, in this case it has real meaning.
I expect Verne to continue to fill an important role at Berkshire
but to do so at his own pace. Marc Hamburg, Verne's understudy for
five years, has succeeded him as Chief Financial Officer.
I recall that one woman, upon being asked to describe the
perfect spouse, specified an archeologist: "The older I get," she
said, "the more he'll be interested in me." She would have liked
my tastes: I treasure those extraordinary Berkshire managers who
are working well past normal retirement age and who concomitantly
are achieving results much superior to those of their younger
competitors. While I understand and empathize with the decision of
Verne and Gladys to retire when the calendar says it's time, theirs
is not a step I wish to encourage. It's hard to teach a new dog
old tricks.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I am a moderate in my views about retirement compared to Rose
Blumkin, better known as Mrs. B. At 99, she continues to work
seven days a week. And about her, I have some particularly good
news.
You will remember that after her family sold 80% of Nebraska
Furniture Mart (NFM) to Berkshire in 1983, Mrs. B continued to be
Chairman and run the carpet operation. In 1989, however, she left
because of a managerial disagreement and opened up her own
operation next door in a large building that she had owned for
several years. In her new business, she ran the carpet section but
leased out other home-furnishings departments.
At the end of last year, Mrs. B decided to sell her building
and land to NFM. She'll continue, however, to run her carpet
business at its current location (no sense slowing down just when
you're hitting full stride). NFM will set up shop alongside her,
in that same building, thereby making a major addition to its
furniture business.
I am delighted that Mrs. B has again linked up with us. Her
business story has no parallel and I have always been a fan of
hers, whether she was a partner or a competitor. But believe me,
partner is better.
This time around, Mrs. B graciously offered to sign a non-
compete agreement - and I, having been incautious on this point
when she was 89, snapped at the deal. Mrs. B belongs in the
Guinness Book of World Records on many counts. Signing a non-
compete at 99 merely adds one more.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ralph Schey, CEO of Scott Fetzer and a manager who I hope is
with us at 99 also, hit a grand slam last year when that company
earned a record $110 million pre-tax. What's even more impressive
is that Scott Fetzer achieved such earnings while employing only
$116 million of equity capital. This extraordinary result is not
the product of leverage: The company uses only minor amounts of
borrowed money (except for the debt it employs - appropriately - in
its finance subsidiary).
Scott Fetzer now operates with a significantly smaller
investment in both inventory and fixed assets than it had when we
bought it in 1986. This means the company has been able to
distribute more than 100% of its earnings to Berkshire during our
seven years of ownership while concurrently increasing its earnings
stream - which was excellent to begin with - by a lot. Ralph just
keeps on outdoing himself, and Berkshire shareholders owe him a
great deal.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Those readers with particularly sharp eyes will note that our
corporate expense fell from $5.6 million in 1991 to $4.2 million in
1992. Perhaps you will think that I have sold our corporate jet,
The Indefensible. Forget it! I find the thought of retiring the
plane even more revolting than the thought of retiring the
Chairman. (In this matter I've demonstrated uncharacteristic
flexibility: For years I argued passionately against corporate
jets. But finally my dogma was run over by my karma.)
Our reduction in corporate overhead actually came about
because those expenses were especially high in 1991, when we
incurred a one-time environmental charge relating to alleged pre-
1970 actions of our textile operation. Now that things are back to
normal, our after-tax overhead costs are under 1% of our reported
operating earnings and less than 1/2 of 1% of our look-through
earnings. We have no legal, personnel, public relations, investor
relations, or strategic planning departments. In turn this means
we don't need support personnel such as guards, drivers,
messengers, etc. Finally, except for Verne, we employ no
consultants. Professor Parkinson would like our operation - though
Charlie, I must say, still finds it outrageously fat.
At some companies, corporate expense runs 10% or more of
operating earnings. The tithing that operations thus makes to
headquarters not only hurts earnings, but more importantly slashes
capital values. If the business that spends 10% on headquarters'
costs achieves earnings at its operating levels identical to those
achieved by the business that incurs costs of only 1%, shareholders
of the first enterprise suffer a 9% loss in the value of their
holdings simply because of corporate overhead. Charlie and I have
observed no correlation between high corporate costs and good
corporate performance. In fact, we see the simpler, low-cost
operation as more likely to operate effectively than its
bureaucratic brethren. We're admirers of the Wal-Mart, Nucor,
Dover, GEICO, Golden West Financial and Price Co. models.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Late last year Berkshire's stock price crossed $10,000.
Several shareholders have mentioned to me that the high price
causes them problems: They like to give shares away each year and
find themselves impeded by the tax rule that draws a distinction
between annual gifts of $10,000 or under to a single individual and
those above $10,000. That is, those gifts no greater than $10,000
are completely tax-free; those above $10,000 require the donor to
use up a portion of his or her lifetime exemption from gift and
estate taxes, or, if that exemption has been exhausted, to pay gift
taxes.
I can suggest three ways to address this problem. The first
would be useful to a married shareholder, who can give up to
$20,000 annually to a single recipient, as long as the donor files
a gift tax return containing his or her spouse's written consent to
gifts made during the year.
Secondly, a shareholder, married or not, can make a bargain
sale. Imagine, for example, that Berkshire is selling for $12,000
and that one wishes to make only a $10,000 gift. In that case,
sell the stock to the giftee for $2,000. (Caution: You will be
taxed on the amount, if any, by which the sales price to your
giftee exceeds your tax basis.)
Finally, you can establish a partnership with people to whom
you are making gifts, fund it with Berkshire shares, and simply
give percentage interests in the partnership away each year. These
interests can be for any value that you select. If the value is
$10,000 or less, the gift will be tax-free.
We issue the customary warning: Consult with your own tax
advisor before taking action on any of the more esoteric methods of
gift-making.
We hold to the view about stock splits that we set forth in
the 1983 Annual Report. Overall, we believe our owner-related
policies - including the no-split policy - have helped us assemble
a body of shareholders that is the best associated with any widely-
held American corporation. Our shareholders think and behave like
rational long-term owners and view the business much as Charlie and
I do. Consequently, our stock consistently trades in a price range
that is sensibly related to intrinsic value.
Additionally, we believe that our shares turn over far less
actively than do the shares of any other widely-held company. The
frictional costs of trading - which act as a major "tax" on the
owners of many companies - are virtually non-existent at Berkshire.
(The market-making skills of Jim Maguire, our New York Stock
Exchange specialist, definitely help to keep these costs low.)
Obviously a split would not change this situation dramatically.
Nonetheless, there is no way that our shareholder group would be
upgraded by the new shareholders enticed by a split. Instead we
believe that modest degradation would occur.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As I mentioned earlier, on December 16th we called our zero-
coupon, convertible debentures for payment on January 4, 1993.
These obligations bore interest at 5 1/2%, a low cost for funds
when they were issued in 1989, but an unattractive rate for us at
the time of call.
The debentures could have been redeemed at the option of the
holder in September 1994, and 5 1/2% money available for no longer
than that is not now of interest to us. Furthermore, Berkshire
shareholders are disadvantaged by having a conversion option
outstanding. At the time we issued the debentures, this
disadvantage was offset by the attractive interest rate they
carried; by late 1992, it was not.
In general, we continue to have an aversion to debt,
particularly the short-term kind. But we are willing to incur
modest amounts of debt when it is both properly structured and of
significant benefit to shareholders.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
About 97% of all eligible shares participated in Berkshire's
1992 shareholder-designated contributions program. Contributions
made through the program were $7.6 million, and 2,810 charities
were recipients. I'm considering increasing these contributions in
the future at a rate greater than the increase in Berkshire's book
value, and I would be glad to hear from you as to your thinking
about this idea.
We suggest that new shareholders read the description of our
shareholder-designated contributions program that appears on pages
48-49. To participate in future programs, you must make sure your
shares are registered in the name of the actual owner, not in the
nominee name of a broker, bank or depository. Shares not so
registered on August 31, 1993 will be ineligible for the 1993
program.
In addition to the shareholder-designated contributions that
Berkshire distributes, managers of our operating businesses make
contributions, including merchandise, averaging about $2.0 million
annually. These contributions support local charities, such as The
United Way, and produce roughly commensurate benefits for our
businesses.
However, neither our operating managers nor officers of the
parent company use Berkshire funds to make contributions to broad
national programs or charitable activities of special personal
interest to them, except to the extent they do so as shareholders.
If your employees, including your CEO, wish to give to their alma
maters or other institutions to which they feel a personal
attachment, we believe they should use their own money, not yours.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
This year the Annual Meeting will be held at the Orpheum
Theater in downtown Omaha at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 26, 1993.
A record 1,700 people turned up for the meeting last year, but that
number still leaves plenty of room at the Orpheum.
We recommend that you get your hotel reservations early at one
of these hotels: (1) The Radisson-Redick Tower, a small (88 rooms)
but nice hotel across the street from the Orpheum; (2) the much
larger Red Lion Hotel, located about a five-minute walk from the
Orpheum; or (3) the Marriott, located in West Omaha about 100 yards
from Borsheim's, which is a twenty minute drive from downtown. We
will have buses at the Marriott that will leave at 8:30 and 8:45
for the meeting and return after it ends.
Charlie and I always enjoy the meeting, and we hope you can
make it. The quality of our shareholders is reflected in the
quality of the questions we get: We have never attended an annual
meeting anywhere that features such a consistently high level of
intelligent, owner-related questions.
An attachment to our proxy material explains how you can
obtain the card you will need for admission to the meeting. With
the admission card, we will enclose information about parking
facilities located near the Orpheum. If you are driving, come a
little early. Nearby lots fill up quickly and you may have to walk
a few blocks.
As usual, we will have buses to take you to Nebraska Furniture
Mart and Borsheim's after the meeting and to take you from there to
downtown hotels or the airport later. I hope that you will allow
plenty of time to fully explore the attractions of both stores.
Those of you arriving early can visit the Furniture Mart any day of
the week; it is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and
from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sundays. While there, stop at the See's
Candy Cart and find out for yourself why Charlie and I are a good
bit wider than we were back in 1972 when we bought See's.
Borsheim's normally is closed on Sunday but will be open for
shareholders and their guests from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, April
25. Charlie and I will be in attendance, sporting our jeweler's
loupes, and ready to give advice about gems to anyone foolish
enough to listen. Also available will be plenty of Cherry Cokes,
See's candies, and other lesser goodies. I hope you will join us.
Warren E. Buffett
March 1, 1993 Chairman of the Board