Berkshire 2022 Annual Report

[Spekulatius]

10 minutes ago, Mdsoup said:

Or buying Taiwan-listed TSM….

TSM was not a Buffett buy, imo. It was a trade from one of his Lieutenants T&T most likely.

 

That said, I think TSM fits into WEB investing framework.

[redskin]

1 hour ago, cubsfan said:

 

GFP - If I remember correctly, early on, BNSF went into large capital expense mode for rail maintenance, tunnel expansion,  etc - before and right after the Berkshire acquisition. Do you see this subsiding, and is that the reason for the large cash distributions?  Just trying to understand whether the other railroads have really been cutting corners and paying for it now - ie., Norfolk..

BNSF has distributed $50.58 billion to Berkshire since it was purchased in 2009.

[John Hjorth]

2 minutes ago, redskin said:

BNSF has distributed $50.58 billion to Berkshire since it was purchased in 2009.

 

To be strictly precise, the dividends from BNSF are not going to Berkshire [the parent], but to National Indemnity [NICO], which is the owner of BNSF.

[Munger_Disciple]

I also missed a 10,000 ft overview of the important business segments though I did read the management discussion and analysis section. I think it is a good idea for Buffett to ask Ajit & Greg to include a 2-3 page summary of their businesses, similar to what Buffett used to do and include these as a part of the annual letter. 

[Munger_Disciple]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35746705/sources-marc-lasry-agrees-sell-bucks-haslams-35b

 

Probably the reason Pilot deal was completed in January 2023. 

[jbwent63]

7 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

I believe he is still topping up his allocation to the handful of Japanese trading houses he owns.

Apologies that I cannot remember the user's name, but someone was posting the detailed listings of NICO's investments which listed all the stocks that company and its subs owned, including the foreign ones (Japanese, German, Australian etc.). I hope that person will do so again when the NICO filings are available for 12-31-22 with many thanks.

[Parsad]

On 2/25/2023 at 8:48 AM, John Hjorth said:

 

The yearly shareholder letters have become shorter and shorter during the last few years for each year passing, yes.

 

However, I think Mr. Buffett has served his service, and has done it very well over time [, like in : over now many years].

 

+1!  And myriad books, biographies, etc.  If you need a longer letter to figure out investing at this point, buy index funds.  

 

While I'm sure there is more knowledge to be gleaned from the old man, if he wants to shorten the letter after 60 years of them, then I'm ok with that!

 

Cheers and thanks to Warren for all the letters he's written over the years!

[StevieV]

On 2/25/2023 at 7:16 PM, gfp said:

Pilot company has grown a ton since 2017.  They are doing a lot more business than just the truck stops.  Since they took over control, Berkshire has shut down a portion of their oil trading operation and let some employees go.  I would link to their subsidiaries but they have removed the list from the website as far as I can tell.  Moody's will probably do an update soon to reflect the credit rating bump from being a consolidated Berkshire subsidiary and they may spell out more detail in that report.

 

"Pilot company has grown a ton since 2017.  They are doing a lot more business than just the truck stops."

 

Do you (or anyone else) mind elaborating?  Curious about how they are expanding.  I know essentially nothing about the company.

[Parsad]

On 2/25/2023 at 12:53 PM, Dinar said:

 I was suprised that Buffett who is usually very careful not to offend and always claimed to be a Democrat essentially called Biden and the Democratic party economic illiterates and silver tongued demagogues.  

 

I think he was calling Trump that too, since debt/GDP grew dramatically under his watch as well.  Cheers!

[Parsad]

19 hours ago, backtothebeach said:

 

Tempted to make the pilgrimage for the first time this year...

 

You should go at least once.  It's well worth it...at least one time!  Cheers!

[gfp]

2 hours ago, StevieV said:

 

"Pilot company has grown a ton since 2017.  They are doing a lot more business than just the truck stops."

 

Do you (or anyone else) mind elaborating?  Curious about how they are expanding.  I know essentially nothing about the company.

 

https://www.saratogarack.com

 

https://www.propetroleum.com

 

https://www.scfuels.com

 

https://pilotwatersolutions.com

 

There is also a large energy commodity trading business, a small part of which was shut down by Berkshire.

 

The CEO (first non-family CEO I believe) came from Castleton Commodities International and has an energy trading background.

https://www.pilotcompany.com/leadership/shameek-konar

 

Quote

We are a growth company focused on innovative solutions across our retail, energy, and logistics operations.

Our vast network of more than 800 retail and fueling locations provide travelers with convenient stops that offer an incredible variety of amenities and products to make road travel easier. The Pilot Flying J travel center network includes locations in 44 states and 5 Canadian provinces with more than 790 restaurants and offers truck maintenance and tire service with Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J. The One9 Fuel Network connects a variety of fueling locations to provide smaller fleets and independent professional drivers with everyday value, convenience, credit and perks.

We supply more than 14 billion gallons of fuel per year with the third largest tanker fleet in North America. Our sourcing infrastructure, strong market presence and expertise in energy and logistics optimizes the distribution of fuel, DEF, bio and renewables. Our fleet also provides critical hauling and disposal services in our nation's busiest basins.

 

https://www.pilotcompany.com

[cubsfan]

^^ GFP - you are the man for the deep dive on all things Berkshire. 

[Gamecock-YT]

16 hours ago, Munger_Disciple said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35746705/sources-marc-lasry-agrees-sell-bucks-haslams-35b

 

Probably the reason Pilot deal was completed in January 2023. 

 

His brother is also purchasing the Nashville Predators hockey team in a slow series of investments that will see him become the sole owner.

[Xerxes]

Russo on Berkshire on Yahoo Finance

 

Explains how the alignment of agency cost is so unique and unusual for Berkshire

 

 

[Intelligent_Investor]

For the annual meeting, is there parking outside the venue? If there isn't should I get a hotel closer or further from the venue? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I am planning on going for possibly the first time this year.

[MikeL]

There are parking lots outside the building, last year, they charged $10/day, people lined up @3AM in the morning in order to get a good seat.

[MCR]

Hotels close to the building are very expensive. Prices always higher for the weekend of the annual meeting. If you're going to go, I'd jump on housing ASAP. Don't forget AirBnB. 

[LounginMKL]

We arrived at the annual meeting 30 minutes prior to the "company movie" and sat at the front of one of many overflow rooms. We moved to the main room during the lunch break, as seats become available after all the "tourists" left. IMO, it's a good trade-off because we could wake up at our normal hour, eat breakfast, and slowly make our way to the venue. The parking wasn't bad at all.

[gfp]

Some folks were disappointed that Warren omitted the list of the company's 15 largest equity holdings by value, since this list sometimes gave additional disclosure of the size of our foreign stock holdings vs. what shows up in a 13F.  This screen shot below is for calendar year 2022, and is only for National Indemnity.  There are additional foreign stock holdings inside General Re and other Berkshire insurance subs.  The list below is just the new shares acquired during 2022 and I have put a red mark next to the foreign purchases since the US stocks are disclosed on dataroma and other 13F sites.  Pay attention to the date acquired and you can see that Berkshire was still adding to the Japanese trading houses late in the year, so he may have omitted the chart for just one year since it would have probably caused his favorites to move up in share price.  I will try to post a few more screenshots of other stuff.  This isn't for all of Berkshire - just National Indemnity.  (BTW, National Indemnity owns GEICO at a $43B carrying value and $6.9B cost basis, and also owns BNSF at a $47.3B carrying value and a $33.8895B cost basis)  The "Harney Investment Trust" is a $77 Billion investment fund that Buffett created decades ago to keep trades hidden, so some of these will be transfers from Harney to National Indemnity direct.  Wallacbeth Capital is Berkshire's preferred "broker" for large block trading.

 

edit: that screen shot was made pretty blurry by this site's compression, try the attached PDF

(also added a PDF showing General Re's year end stock holdings, some foreign, some well known)

 

 

 

 

National Indemnity Foreign Stock purchases.pdf

Gen Re stock portfolio.pdf

Edited March 1, 2023 by gfp

[nwoodman]

@gfpThank-you

[Charlie]

gfp, thank you! 

[Munger_Disciple]

Great stuff @gfp! Thanks

[jbwent63]

On 3/1/2023 at 2:05 PM, gfp said:

Some folks were disappointed that Warren omitted the list of the company's 15 largest equity holdings by value, since this list sometimes gave additional disclosure of the size of our foreign stock holdings vs. what shows up in a 13F.  This screen shot below is for calendar year 2022, and is only for National Indemnity.  There are additional foreign stock holdings inside General Re and other Berkshire insurance subs.  The list below is just the new shares acquired during 2022 and I have put a red mark next to the foreign purchases since the US stocks are disclosed on dataroma and other 13F sites.  Pay attention to the date acquired and you can see that Berkshire was still adding to the Japanese trading houses late in the year, so he may have omitted the chart for just one year since it would have probably caused his favorites to move up in share price.  I will try to post a few more screenshots of other stuff.  This isn't for all of Berkshire - just National Indemnity.  (BTW, National Indemnity owns GEICO at a $43B carrying value and $6.9B cost basis, and also owns BNSF at a $47.3B carrying value and a $33.8895B cost basis)  The "Harney Investment Trust" is a $77 Billion investment fund that Buffett created decades ago to keep trades hidden, so some of these will be transfers from Harney to National Indemnity direct.  Wallacbeth Capital is Berkshire's preferred "broker" for large block trading.

 

edit: that screen shot was made pretty blurry by this site's compression, try the attached PDF

(also added a PDF showing General Re's year end stock holdings, some foreign, some well known)

 

 

 

 

National Indemnity Foreign Stock purchases.pdf 2.1 MB · 62 downloads

Gen Re stock portfolio.pdf 610.05 kB · 49 downloads

GFP, thanks for this. If you could also send along the year end list of owned common stocks for NICO that would be fantastic. Are you going to Omaha this year? I'd like to buy you a beer for your troubles.

[gfp]

12 hours ago, jbwent63 said:

GFP, thanks for this. If you could also send along the year end list of owned common stocks for NICO that would be fantastic. Are you going to Omaha this year? I'd like to buy you a beer for your troubles.

No problem.  I was driving to Virginia all day today but here is the entire document for National Indemnity.  Common Stocks owned are on pages 24 and 25 but if you browse around those pages you can see the individual bond holdings and other details.

 

20087.2022.P.AN.PI.O.M.4461731_NatInd_Inv.pdf

[jbwent63]

9 hours ago, gfp said:

No problem.  I was driving to Virginia all day today but here is the entire document for National Indemnity.  Common Stocks owned are on pages 24 and 25 but if you browse around those pages you can see the individual bond holdings and other details.

 

20087.2022.P.AN.PI.O.M.4461731_NatInd_Inv.pdf 1.82 MB · 9 downloads

Thank you, once again.