Warren Buffett on Saturday moved to reassure investors that his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), opens new tab would serve them well over the long term, even as he mourned the recent passing of his longtime second-in-command Charlie Munger.
In his widely-read annual letter to Berkshire shareholders Buffett said his more than $900 billion conglomerate has become a fortress that could withstand even an unprecedented financial disaster.
“Berkshire is built to last,” Buffett wrote.
Still, Buffett tempered expectations for Berkshire’s stock price, saying his Omaha, Nebraska-based company “should do a bit better” than the average American corporation, but that its huge size left “no possibility of eye-popping performance.”
“There remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire, and they have been endlessly picked over by us and by others,” Buffett wrote.
The letter was accompanied by Berkshire’s financial results, including a record $37.4 billion operating profit and $96.2 billion net profit for all of 2023.
Berkshire’s shares have risen by 4,384,748% since Buffett took over in 1965, or 19.8% compounded annually.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 (.SPX), opens new tab, in contrast, gained a mere 31,223%, or 10.2% annually, though in recent years Berkshire has performed more like the index.