2025 Annual Report - Greg Abel's first annual letter

[Pellom]

40 minutes ago, gfp said:

 

No, Berkshire didn't purchase and A or B shares before the Annual Report was released.  No clue what Feb. 2nd A-share volume was all about but it may not be "real."

Got it. I'm hazy on how the disclosure process works. 

 

We're all in agreement that it is very un-Berkshire-like to announce buybacks ahead of time, so when I saw the volume spike this morning (looking at 02/02) I thought maybe Greg was disclosing something they had already done (and may continue to do in the future.)

 

Anyway, if you figure the internal calculation of intrinsic value is in the range of Bloomstran's $570 per B-share, we're still trading at a 10% discount, which is easily justifiable from a buyback perspective. 

Edited March 10 by Pellom

[longterminvestor]

2 hours ago, Pellom said:

Got it. I'm hazy on how the disclosure process works. 

 

We're all in agreement that it is very un-Berkshire-like to announce buybacks ahead of time, so when I saw the volume spike this morning (looking at 02/02) I thought maybe Greg was disclosing something they had already done (and may continue to do in the future.)

 

Anyway, if you figure the internal calculation of intrinsic value is in the range of Bloomstran's $570 per B-share, we're still trading at a 10% discount, which is easily justifiable from a buyback perspective. 

Don't agree with sentiment of the announcement being "un-Berkshire-like". 

 

On the contrary, I see the announcement as more of Mr. Abel telling us "Hey, I am gonna doing this, I am gonna tell you now because I need you shareholders to trust me, cause I will will buy more in the future and will not announce a thing ", its a chiefs kiss.  It was Mr. Abel telling the world "I am the boss now" in a kind way.  Now he will return to Omaha to tend the flock.  Mr. Buffett has taught Mr. Abel, probably bred into him at birth, to think long term.  1 announcement letting the world know "we are in the market" is very much Berkshire - Mr. Abel does not want to upset/spook long term A shareholders, my opinion. 

 

Yes, announcing you are a buyer hurts short term because you cant gather the shares you want quickly and in size.  Private sales direct to Berkshire I believe is where the real size lies, open market is fine tho.  This is a chess game.  Mr. Buffett has had 60 years to think about how the movie goes on, he has thought about it alot.  And his brain is highly geared towards playing at a level much more intensely than Mr. Market, and hope Mr. Abel inherits the bag of tricks under Mr. Buffett's desk. 

 

This change at home office is a coronation, this is not just oh, yeah, we are swapping out CEO's.  This is a very personal thing - very much like passing the crown - I mean the GDP of Luxembourg is rivals Berkshire's earnings.  

 

Announce away I say, sit back and watch the world turn.  This is a forever game, 2 months is nothing.  This is a non-event.  

[boilermaker75]

@longterminvestor I agree. BRK did not want to blindside any LT investors. I appreciate the announcement and any disadvantage to repurchasing shares by BRK will be a short blip, forgotten in a day or two. I see BRK's share repurchase as a long game. 

[UK]

I do not see anything wrong with all the recent stuff too and I like what Greg said and did very much. Now if the only thing I do not like from the last ~5 years, which is not swinging enough:), will change too (not necessarely right now), I think we could declare that BRK is back:)

[boilermaker75]

I think the announcement that BRK was repurchasing shares has already been forgotten. Except by us multi decade holders.

[73 Reds]

23 minutes ago, boilermaker75 said:

I think the announcement that BRK was repurchasing shares has already been forgotten. Except by us multi decade holders.

A dividend would refresh a lot of memories.  As a long term owner I don't want one and am happy if they keep repurchasing shares as the result of short memories.  But if I were younger and just started buying the stock, I'd think differently and vote for a dividend.